The first crash occurred around 2 a.m. in Northwest Albuquerque near St. Pius High School at Coors Boulevard and St. Joseph’s Drive.
Officers discovered “a white 2008 Chevrolet Impala was traveling southbound on Coors approaching St. Joseph’s. At the same time, a blue 2007 Toyota Yaris was making a westbound turn from northbound Coors when it impacted into the Impala,” said Chase Jewell, APD officer, in an email.
The Yaris was pushed into a traffic pole and the driver was pronounced dead on the scene, Jewell said.
The driver and several passengers from the Impala fled on food while another of the Impala passengers was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, Jewell added.
He also added that speed and alcohol were contributing factors in this crash.
The second crash took place around 3 a.m. south of Southern Boulevard at Pike Street and Coconino Road SE.
The investigation into the incident determined a house party was breaking up and a woman was walking in the roadway toward her vehicle when an “unrelated red Ford Mustang drove east on Coconino with its hood up and struck the female pedestrian and proceeded to drag her for about 400 feet,” Jewell said.
The driver of the Ford fled the scene and the woman was taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Officers were able to locate and apprehend the suspect and he was taken into custody, Jewell added.
