Police believe a 62-year-old Las Cruces woman was killed when her car rolled out of the driveway and struck her Thursday morning.
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 on the city’s East Mesa. Officers arrived to find the woman pinned underneath the 1974 Plymouth.
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.
The woman was deceased when police arrived on scene.
Preliminary information from the investigation appears to indicate that the woman started the Plymouth in the carport and then walked down the driveway to open the chain link gates near the roadway. Investigators believe the woman may have 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.
Traffic investigators tested the theory by turning the ignition with the transmission in Reverse and the vehicle, indeed, started.
The woman’s identity will not be released at this time and no charges will be filed in this case.
Information from Las Cruces Police