LAS CRUCES, N.M. — A driver crashed through the front of a store in New Mexico on Tuesday morning, killing one person and injuring 14 others, according to the Las Cruces Police Department.
The incident happened just before 10 a.m. at a Savers store in Las Cruces. Police said 15 people were injured inside the store when a woman drove a 2015 Ford Explorer through the Savers’ glass and aluminum façade near the self-checkout area. The SUV veered right before stopping in the store’s showroom.
“It was pretty chaotic,” Savers employee Elijah Sanchez told KFOX-TV. “I didn’t know what to think, but I just knew that the best thing to do was to try go help the people who needed help.”
He said he heard people screaming in pain.
“It’s really sad and heartbreaking and I hope that everyone who was hurt by this is gonna be ok,” he told KFOX. “My prayers are out to them.”
One woman, 67-year-old Pamela Kaye Nelson, died after being injured in the crash, police said. Authorities declined to identify the others who were injured, saying only that they ranged in age from 30 to 90 years old and that two of them were Savers employees. Ten of them, including Nelson, were taken to hospitals, while five were assessed at the scene.
The driver of the SUV, who was identified only as a 69-year-old woman, took herself to the hospital after the collision. She was the only one in the SUV at the time of the crash. Police believe she mistakenly pressed the accelerator instead of the break as she was trying to park in front of the store, causing the SUV to jump the curb and hit Savers.
Authorities continues to investigate.
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