A deadly crash shut down every direction of traffic at Bridge Boulevard Southwest and Artisco Drive Southwest in Albuquerque's South Valley early Sunday, sending several people to the hospital. The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office reported the closure around 1:30 a.m., and the circumstances that led to the crash remained unclear hours later.
According to KRQE, the intersection was closed in all directions following the crash, and the number of fatalities and the cause had not been released as of the station's initial report. KRQE described the situation as an ongoing incident and said it would provide updates as more information became available.
A separate report from KOAT said one person died and multiple others were injured in the crash, with several people transported to the hospital. That station also reported that the circumstances surrounding the crash were unclear. The two outlets' accounts differ on whether a fatality count had been confirmed, and neither has released details on what caused the crash.
A Stretch of Road With a Troubled Safety Record
Sunday's closure adds to a string of serious crashes in the South Valley this year. In September, a 15-year-old girl died and three others were critically injured after a two-vehicle crash at Coors and Bridge Southwest, according to a search-result description from the Albuquerque Journal.
The South Valley has long stood out in county traffic-safety data. Bernalillo County's pedestrian and bicycle safety action plan found that the area led the county in pedestrian traffic fatalities and injuries between 2017 and 2021, the same KRQE report on the county's data noted. That analysis identified Coors Boulevard, Rio Bravo Boulevard, Sage Road and 2nd Street among the area's biggest problem roads for pedestrian safety.
County officials said at the time that they expected to release an updated version of that action plan, with specific safety updates and policy goals, in early 2025, per the same KRQE report. Sunday's crash did not occur on one of the previously identified problem roads, but it underscores the broader safety concerns that have shadowed the South Valley's roadways in recent years.
As of Sunday, investigators had not released the cause of the crash or a confirmed number of fatalities beyond the conflicting early reports. KRQE said it would continue to update its coverage of the incident as new details emerge.
