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Category: Front Page News Front Page News
Published: 27 December 2019 27 December 2019

By Roger Lanse

About 9:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 23, 2019, a small semi with trailer transporting some form of medical equipment or waste overturned on Highway 180 near the Grant County Airport Road. The vehicle and trailer, from Estrategy, Inc. in Albuquerque, according to Lt. Delvin Castillo of the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, flipped and landed on the east shoulder of the roadway. The company performs medical waste collecting, treatment, and disposal, according to their website. Cause of the accident was speed and inattention, Castillo stated.

The driver, Israel Rodriguez-Venegas, 25, of Albuquerque, was shaken but sustained only minor injuries. Originally, Native Air was placed on standby but was not needed.

Deputies were assisted by New Mexico State Police officers who inspected the vehicle and the biohazard material and waited for the biohazard team from Albuquerque to arrive on scene. Castillo told the Beat the area was cleaned up, the vehicle and trailer towed, and the highway was never shut down.

The incident report, as of Friday, Dec. 27, has not been completed and the accident remains under investigation.