ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Deadly car crashes can change families in an instant. So far this year, Albuquerque police alone have investigated dozens of them.

But those detectives, and families, have a new resource to lighten the workload, and emotional toll.

“It’s just really an important collaboration to make sure the most important thing is victims are getting the support they need as soon as possible,” said Terry Huertaz, APD’s victim liaison manager in the victims’ assistance unit.

That includes families of deadly crash victims and crashes involving serious injuries. She started working with the fatal crash unit in January. 

“Crashes are very, very violent to the physical body, and people have to process that. Sometimes it’s really, really difficult for them. Sometimes there is no face to kiss goodbye,” said Huertaz. 

This summer, Huertaz says a string of crashes further proved the worth of the partnership. 

“There was a couple of weekends or weeks, actually, where there were multiple, multiple crashes that were occurring. And, yeah, it was a rough week for the families involved, for the unit, and our unit as well,” Huertaz said. 

APD Detective Courtney Wells is the acting sergeant of the unit. It broke off the larger motor unit last May.

“Right now, we only have three detectives in our unit. So the ratio of call outs to the detectives we have, it’s a pretty big caseload for everybody,” said Wells. 

Wells says there has been 67 deadly crashes so far this year, and 49 involving serious injuries.

“Because somebody’s not getting shot, or it’s not an active homicide scene, it doesn’t take away from the loss from the families that are experiencing this. These are very tragic, very violent crashes that happen,” Wells said. 

She says the small unit has felt a big impact from the partnership with the victim advocates. 

“They assist us in kind of mitigating resources and take a little bit of time off of our plate so we can get to our investigation right away,” said Wells. 

So they can focus on other issues like more successful prosecution of these cases. 

“Some of our state statutes aren’t ideal for the situations that we’re dealing with,” Wells said. “Reckless driving is kind of a vague statute, and when once it gets to the DA’s office, or it gets put across the judge’s desk, those cases are hard to prove reckless.”

She believes advocating for these victims’ families has to include time at the Legislature too. 

“Ultimately, everybody wants justice, right? So when we’re not able to provide that for a family, it hurts us personally and professionally,” said Wells.

Victim advocates can walk families through financial assistance, funeral planning, and other immediate resources after a tragedy. 

They can also provide a warm handoff to an advocate in the district attorney’s office if and when a case enters the judicial process.