A Las Cruces man is in jail following a bizarre crash in which it appears he attempted to steal a pickup with an 8-year-old in the backseat, fought with the truck’s owner and crashed the vehicle into a building critically injuring the vehicle’s owner.
Joseph Gaytan, Jr., 28, is charged with one count each of intentional child abuse, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, DWI causing great bodily harm and driving while license suspended.
Shortly before 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 25, Las Cruces Police were dispatched to the report of a vehicle that struck a building at 1505 La Fonda Dr. Officers arrived to find a 43-year-old man pinned between the pickup and a house. Las Cruces firefighters attended to the victim who was airlifted in critical condition to University Medical Center of El Paso.
The victim’s condition stabilized overnight.
Detectives learned that the victim, who owns the 1998 GMC pickup, and another man were attaching the pickup to a trailer when Gaytan approached and entered the truck. The owner yelled at Gaytan who briefly exited the pickup but then re-entered and tried to drive off with the owner’s 8-year-old son in the backseat.
The 43-year-old owner of the pickup tried to pull Gaytan from the vehicle but was injured when the truck crashed into a light pole and then a nearby home. The 8-year-old boy escaped injury and the home was not occupied at the time of the crash.
Investigators believe Gaytan was intoxicated at the time and his driving privileges had previously been revoked by the State of New Mexico. It appears the owner of the vehicle and Gaytan were not acquainted with each other prior to the incident.
Gaytan was booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center where he is initially being held without bond.