Cibola County, NM - On March 28, 2020 at around 2:30 a.m. the New Mexico State Police responded to a double fatal five-vehicle crash on eastbound Interstate 40 at about mile post 73 near Grants, NM.

The initial investigation indicates a 2020 Volvo Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) driven by Saydiev Otabek (26) of Rego Park, NY was traveling east on Interstate 40. Eastbound traffic ahead of the Volvo was at a standstill due to snow packed and icy roads with minor crashes in the roadway. The Volvo CMV failed to stop and collided with the stopped traffic at a high rate of speed.

The Volvo CMV first struck a 1996 Toyota truck driven by Rey Pagarigan (47) of Daly City, CA and his passenger a 48-year-old Sacramento, CA man. The Toyota was pushed into the third vehicle in the crash, a 2004 Chevy truck driven by a 77-year-old Albuquerque man. The fourth vehicle struck was a 2005 GMC truck driven by Curtis Gutierrez (52) of Albuquerque, NM. The fifth vehicle in the collision was a 2019 Freightliner CMV.

Rey Pagarigan, the driver of the Toyota and Curtis Gutierrez the driver of the GMC truck both suffered fatal injuries in the collision and were pronounced deceased on scene by the Office of the Medical Investigator. The driver of the Chevy was airlifted from the scene for his injuries and the passenger in the Toyota was transported for their injuries. Their degree of injury and current conditions are unknown.

The driver of the Volvo and Freightliner CMV’s were uninjured. Saydiev Otabek was cited for Carless Driving, Driving Too Fast for Conditions, and Inattentive Driving. The other victims in this crash will not be immediately identified. This crash remains under investigation by the New Mexico State Police.