A Farmington man has been charged after investigators alleged he left the scene of a fatal pedestrian crash at the intersection of Road 5267 and U.S. 64 without stopping or notifying authorities, according to a criminal complaint and arrest warrant affidavit filed in San Juan County Magistrate Court.

Luis Fernando-Panduro-Ruelas is charged with knowingly leaving the scene of an accident involving great bodily harm or death and failure to give immediate notice of an accident. All charges are allegations based on court records, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched at approximately 2:22 a.m. Aug. 8 to the intersection of Road 5267 and U.S. 64 near Farmington for a reported fatal hit-and-run crash. The affidavit states a pedestrian had been struck and killed, and the vehicle involved was not immediately identified.

The affidavit states a deputy conducted a crash reconstruction, and Detective Gabriel Salazar was assigned to the case Aug. 20. Salazar reported examining vehicle debris collected from the scene, including a black plastic piece bearing a part number and two pieces of what appeared to be a silver bumper.

According to the affidavit, Salazar reported that the silver bumper pieces had what appeared to be blood spatter on the front. A mechanic who reviewed photographs of the debris told investigators the black piece came from a radiator used in one of three passenger-vehicle models and said the bumper may have come from a truck based on its size.

Investigators later examined the bumper pieces again and concluded, based on their size and characteristics, that the bumper likely came from an International LT semi-truck, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit states investigators searched Flock cameras in Bloomfield for vehicles traveling west toward the crash scene. A semi-truck pulling a trailer was recorded traveling west on Broadway Avenue near Newby Lane at approximately 2:18 a.m., about four minutes before the dispatch call reporting a person struck in the roadway.

According to the affidavit, investigators estimated the camera location was about 2.7 miles from the location where the pedestrian was found.

Detectives traced the trailer to Gore Logistics and learned Panduro-Ruelas had been contracted to transport a fracking sand trailer, according to the affidavit. Investigators were told Gore Logistics hired G&Z Transport, which contracted with Windy City West LLC for drivers, and that drivers signed paperwork when picking up trailers.

According to the affidavit, GPS data provided by Gore Logistics placed the truck in the area captured by the Bloomfield camera. Investigators reported that, after accounting for a one-hour difference between the GPS and camera systems, the times matched. The affidavit states the GPS data showed the truck traveling about 54 mph at approximately 2:20 a.m. before slowing to about 41 mph and continuing west on U.S. 64 toward Farmington.

The affidavit states the trailer assigned to Panduro-Ruelas was later dropped at G&Z Transport instead of being returned to the original site. A company representative told investigators that was unusual because payment for the job depended on the truck being refilled with sand and returned.

According to the affidavit, a G&Z Transport representative told investigators she received a company message from Panduro-Ruelas early Aug. 8 saying he had a family issue, needed to leave and could not finish the run. The representative also told investigators Panduro-Ruelas did not return to work for at least a week after the incident.

The representative further told investigators she remembered a Windy City West truck with front-end damage, according to the affidavit. Investigators reported that several similar silver International semi-trucks were at the company’s property, but none of those trucks had front bumper damage. The affidavit states the only truck investigators did not observe there was the truck assigned to Panduro-Ruelas.

Later that day, investigators received information that Panduro-Ruelas had been seen at a Love’s truck stop in Gallup and appeared to have his bags with him, according to the affidavit. Investigators were subsequently told he entered a white single-cab Chevrolet truck bearing a Mexico registration and traveled east on Interstate 40.

According to the affidavit, an employee at the Gallup truck stop confirmed that the silver International semi-truck was in the parking lot and reported damage to its front bumper.

Photographs sent to investigators showed identification numbers on the truck’s hood had been peeled off, according to the affidavit. Salazar wrote that he believed the numbers were likely removed in an attempt to disguise the truck’s identifiers.

Salazar wrote that, based on the semi-truck damage, what investigators described as apparent blood spatter on recovered truck pieces and Panduro-Ruelas’ reported actions after the crash, he believed Panduro-Ruelas knew he had struck a person, failed to stop to check on the individual and left work after the incident.

The criminal complaint specifically alleges Panduro-Ruelas failed to stop and render aid after striking the pedestrian and failed to notify the proper authorities after the crash.

CHARGES FILED

• Knowingly leaving the scene of an accident involving great bodily harm or death, under NMSA 1978, Section 66-7-201.
• Failure to give immediate notice of accidents, under NMSA 1978, Section 66-7-206.

CASE STATUS

A magistrate judge found probable cause on Aug. 25, according to the criminal complaint. The arrest warrant affidavit was filed Aug. 26 and requested that a warrant be issued for Panduro-Ruelas on the two charges.

San Juan County Adult Detention Center records show Panduro-Ruelas was booked into the jail at 11:50 p.m. Aug. 27. The detention record lists both charges from case M-147-FR-26-399. The record does not indicate a release date, and the materials supplied do not indicate whether he had retained legal counsel.

SOURCE

Sources: A criminal complaint and affidavit for arrest warrant filed in San Juan County Magistrate Court in Aztec. The records identify the case as M-147-FR-2026-00399.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER

All charges are allegations based on court records, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.