Police have identified the woman struck and killed by her own car Thursday on the city’s East Mesa as 62-year-old Jill Thompson of Las Cruces.
Shortly before 10 a.m. on Thursday, April 20, Las Cruces Police were dispatched to the report of an injured woman on the 5000 block of Wild Bill Lane. Officers arrived to find the woman pinned underneath her 1974 Plymouth Satellite. The woman, identified as Thompson, succumb to her injuries prior to officers arriving on scene.
Traffic investigators learned that a relative became concerned when she heard the vehicle engine running near the driveway. She went to check on the vehicle and found her 62-year-old sister pinned underneath the vehicle.
Traffic investigators believe Thompson started the Plymouth in the carport and walked to the end of the driveway to open chain link gates near the roadway. Investigators believe Thompson accidentally started the vehicle while the automatic transmission was in reverse instead of park. The investigation leads police to believe the car began reversing and struck the woman as she opened the gates.
As part of the investigation, Traffic investigators placed the transmission in reverse and turned the ignition. The vehicle started.
The woman’s death appears to be accidental.
Information from Las Cruces Police