Serving the High Plains

Two Amarillo residents die in single-vehicle crash near Tucumcari

Two Amarillo residents died last week in a single-vehicle crash on Interstate 40 west of Tucumcari.

According to a news release from New Mexico State Police, the accident occurred about 7 a.m. Oct. 25. A 2016 Toyota 4Runner was going west on I-40 when, for unknown reasons, it left the roadway, struck a culvert and rolled.

The driver, Rena Mozelle Hedrick, 84, of Amarillo, was pronounced dead at the scene by the Office of the Medical Investigator.

The vehicle’s only passenger, Larry Gordon Hedrick, 87, also of Amarillo, was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

State police stated that alcohol did not appear to have been a factor in the crash, and both occupants were wearing seatbelts. This accident is being investigated.