Santa Fe Officer, Motorist Killed in Pursuit Crash

Santa Fe, NM, Police Officer Robert Duran and an uninvolved civilian died in a pursuit crash Wednesday on I-25 near Santa Fe. The crash involved at least four vehicles; two Santa Fe Patrol Units, the fleeing vehicle, and an uninvolved vehicle. The officer was pursuing a carjacking suspect.

The Santa Fe Police Department says that around 11:06 a.m., a kidnapping in progress was reported to the Regional Emergency Dispatch Center at the Rancho Vizcaya Apartments. The man armed with a knife took a vehicle that was occupied by a woman.

Around 11:14 a.m. Santa Fe officers located the vehicle and attempted to stop it. The suspect fled in the vehicle onto I-25 northbound in the southbound lanes. The crash occurred in the northbound lane of I-25, KQRE reports.

The suspect fled the scene on foot after the crash and remains at large.

The kidnapping victim escaped and was taken to a hospital, the New Mexican reports.

Officer Duran is survived by a wife and two teenage boys.

Officer Robert Duran of the Santa Fe Police Department was killed in a pursuit crash Wednesday. (Photo: Santa Fe PD)