Interstate 40 has seen a challenging start to 2026 with multiple crashes, including two fatal incidents, reported in the past month.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Interstate 40 has seen a challenging start to 2026 with multiple crashes, including two fatal incidents, reported in the past month.
On Feb. 23, a crash near Route 66 Casino and Hotel involved a semi-truck and a car, resulting in two fatalities. Later that day, a Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office sergeant was killed during a traffic stop when a semi-truck hit his car near Carnuel.
“As you can see, going through the Carneul, they’ve redone that road a couple of times because of all the fatalities we’ve had over decades,” said BCSO Sheriff John Allen last month.
A recent fiery crash involving a semi and a pickup truck near Louisiana Boulevard and Wyoming Boulevard shut down the interstate until early Thursday morning.
Crash investigation
An anonymous driver, Justin, described the scene, saying, “I just saw – like an explosion. It was so bright and I was just like I didn’t know what I saw at first.”
Justin was heading home from dinner when the crash occurred and said he’s taking it easy today.
“Still part of me feels like I’m just being a little dramatic but it really was just a matter of seconds that it was so close. I was still kind of in disbelief,” he said.
State police confirmed the crash is still under investigation. They have investigated five fatal crashes along I-40 this year.
