SIERRA COUNTY, NM — A 21-year-old man faces multiple charges after stealing and crashing a Sierra County deputy’s vehicle Sunday night near south Caballo, reports KOB4.
The events first unfolded on the southbound lanes of Interstate 25, south of Truth or Consequences, at around 10:30 p.m.
According to authorities, the young man had allegedly tried to jump out of a southbound truck. After the driver of the truck pulled over, the man exited and fled the scene on foot. Shortly after, he jumped into the bed of another truck whose driver had stopped to help. As the second driver sped away, the suspect was said to have jumped out of that truck and ran away again.
After spotting the suspect on New Mexico State Road 187 near mile marker 23, Sierra County deputies and one New Mexico State Police officer attempted to run after him. The suspect reportedly carjacked a deputy’s vehicle and was able to drive away. A deputy and the officer fired at least one shot at the fleeing vehicle before it collided head-on with a vacant NMSP car.
The suspect was rushed to a local hospital before he was airlifted to an El Paso, Texas hospital. No information on the severity of his condition has been shared.
Officials said the suspect was charged with two counts of “aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against a law enforcement officer,” as well as one count of “unlawfully taking a vehicle and resisting/evading an officer.”
An investigation by the NMSP remains ongoing.
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