A fiery crash between a large fuel truck and a pickup truck shut down all lanes of southbound I-25 near Hatch on Sunday evening, sending four people to local hospitals with serious injuries after the tanker burst into flames. Emergency crews swarmed the scene at milepost 41 just before 6 p.m., battling the blaze as traffic backed up on one of southern New Mexico's main north-south corridors.
The crash happened at about 6 p.m. Sunday along southbound I-25 near Hatch, according to ktsm.com. Doña Ana County Fire Rescue said the collision involved a large fuel truck and a pickup truck, and that four people were seriously injured, as first reported by the Las Cruces Sun-News. The fuel truck caught fire after the crash, according to kob.com.
All four injured people were transported to local hospitals with serious injuries, per kvia.com. No fatalities were reported, but the conditions of the four hurt in the crash remained unknown in the immediate aftermath, ktsm.com noted. The precise circumstances of how the fuel truck and pickup collided have not been disclosed.
Interstate Shut Down for Hours as Crews Battled the Blaze
All lanes of I-25 in the area were closed while emergency crews worked to extinguish the fire and clear the scene, kvia.com reported. Traffic was diverted onto NM-187 during the closure, according to the same kob.com report that detailed the fuel truck fire. Arrey Derry Fire Department and Spaceport America fire crews assisted Doña Ana County Fire Rescue at the scene, kvia.com reported.
Accounts differ slightly on exactly when the interstate reopened. The New Mexico Department of Transportation said I-25 reopened in both directions around 10:30 p.m., per ktsm.com, while kob.com reported the interstate was shut down from 6:32 p.m. until 10:39 p.m. Either way, the closure stretched for more than four hours as crews worked to clear the wreckage and douse the flames.
Cleanup Crew Dispatched, Investigation Continues
The tanker company dispatched an environmental cleanup crew to the scene, and an investigation into the crash remained ongoing, according to kob.com. Details on the exact cause of the collision, along with any citations or charges, have not been released.
It is not the first time fire has forced a shutdown of I-25 near Hatch. Back in March 2018, a vehicle fire and brush fire temporarily closed the interstate south of the town, according to the Las Cruces Sun-News. That earlier fire closed both directions at milepost 37 between Rincon and Hatch, with southbound traffic rerouted onto N.M. Highway 26, and it was ultimately contained with no injuries reported.
