Head-on crash leaves two family members dead

GRANTS - A mother and daughter from Phoenix were killed early Sunday when the car they were in collided with a semi-trailer rig on wintry Interstate 40 in McKinley County, the State Police said.

Oneyda Sanchez, 34, and her daughter Oriana Y. Sanchez-Madrid, 16, were killed in the head-on collision with the semi driven by John Gaulke, 62, of Wisconsin.

Another daughter, Odalis Sanchez-Madrid, 13, was critically injured and was flown to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque.

Gaulke was treated and released from the Cibola Regional Medical Center.

Police said the accident occurred when Sanchez lost control of her westbound 2000 Kia and drove through the median into the path of the semi.

Seatbelts were not worn at the time of the impact and alcohol was not a contributing factor, police said.

Las Cruces teen dies in accident

Las Cruces - Oscar Calderon-Hernandez, 18, of Las Cruces, died early Sunday morning in a single-vehicle crash in Dona Ana County, State Police said.

The accident occurred in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 10 just west of Las Cruces shortly after 5 a.m.

Police said Calderon-Hernandez lost control of his 1990 Oldsmobile when it rode onto the shoulder, and then rolled over back onto the interstate. It was unclear whether two passengers, Edgar Aguilar-Soltero, 19, and Edwin Hernandez, 19, both of Las Cruxes, were injured.

Alcohol contributed to the crash, police said.