APD: 2 children killed in crash on I-25 at Menaul

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Two children were killed in a single-vehicle crash on northbound I-25 near Menaul Tuesday morning. Police said alcohol and speed were contributing factors in the crash.

According to APD, officers were dispatched to the crash around 4 a.m.

Police said it appeared that the vehicle involved had entered the northbound flyover from westbound I-40 while speeding. The vehicle continued westbound across the northbound I-25 lanes after the flyover and struck the concrete barrier.

Police said there were two adults and four children in the vehicle. Two children under the age of 10 were killed. The other two children, both under the age of five, were taken to the hospital. One of the children is in critical condition, according to police.

Both adults in the vehicle were also hospitalized. The driver, a 23-year-old, who police said was driving while intoxicated, is in critical condition.

Police said they are working with the district attorney to pursue criminal charges.

Lindsey Valdez, executive director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, called the crash devastating.

"What people don’t understand is, you can see a story on TV and think, oh that’s so horrible for them," she said. "But, what people don’t understand is that can happen to you."

Valdez said preliminary data shows, in the year of the pandemic, when New Mexicans were urged to stay home, 139 people were killed in alcohol or drug-related crashes.