A three-vehicle crash just east of Tularosa left 11 people injured Friday afternoon, including two van passengers who were airlifted to a hospital in El Paso, after a driver allegedly ran a stop sign at U.S. 70 and slammed into a van and an SUV. Police arrested the driver of the car, 24-year-old Oren Shanta, and charged him with driving under the influence.
According to KVIA, the driver of a black passenger car ran a stop sign at U.S. 70 before crashing into a van carrying 10 passengers and then striking an SUV carrying three more people. The collision happened near Old Mescalero Road, and the New Mexico Department of Public Safety confirmed in a statement that the crash left 11 people injured, though the agency's post did not detail the full sequence of events. KTSM 9 News reported that New Mexico State Police were dispatched to the scene just after 4 p.m.
Six people from the van and three from the car were taken to an area hospital by ambulance, the station's report states. Two other van passengers suffered serious injuries and were airlifted to a hospital in El Paso. Police said no deaths had resulted from the crash as of the report, and did not have an update on the condition of the other passengers involved.
Driver Arrested, Charged With DUI
Police arrested Shanta, who was driving the black car, and charged him with driving under the influence, per the same KVIA account. KTSM 9 News reported that Shanta was also taken to a hospital following the crash and that officers detected an odor of alcohol coming from him, observing signs they believed indicated impairment. The El Paso-based outlet further reported that Shanta had been traveling northbound on Old Mescalero Road at a high rate of speed, according to witness statements, before failing to stop at the posted stop sign along U.S. 70.
The crash prompted a full closure of U.S. 70. NM Roads reported that all lanes were shut down from mile marker 229 to 230, roughly one mile east of Tularosa.
Not the First Serious Crash on This Stretch
Highway 70 through this corridor of southern New Mexico has seen other serious wrecks in recent years. In September 2024, a fiery single-vehicle crash near mile marker 246 in Mescalero left passengers injured, according to KFOX14. Friday's crash adds to a pattern of multi-injury incidents along the same highway system linking Tularosa and the Mescalero area.
The investigation into Friday's crash remains active, and authorities have not released updated information on the conditions of those hospitalized. The New Mexico Department of Public Safety confirmed the arrest came on DWI-related charges but did not spell out every charge filed against Shanta in its public statement.
