Police looking for Las Cruces man accused of fleeing crash that seriously injured his ex-girlfriend

Las Cruces Police issued a warrant for the arrest of the man accused of leaving the scene of a crash that seriously injured his ex-girlfriend.

This happened Thursday evening around 9 p.m. on Triviz Drive in East-Central Las Cruces.

Dillon Edwards, 22, is charged with one count each of battery against a household member, criminal damage to property, interference with communication, careless driving and leaving the scene of an accident.

Las Cruces Police said that Edwards took his ex-girlfriend’s cell phone on March 29 but contacted her through social media on Thursday, indicating that he would return the phone. At around 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Edwards arrived at the 24-year-old woman’s home and became abusive almost immediately.

Detectives learned that Edwards took keys to the woman’s Jeep and demanded that she leave with him if she wanted her cell phone back. Edwards apparently drove to another residence within Las Cruces where he left the woman in the Jeep and retrieved her phone from inside the home.

The woman told detectives that Edwards then wanted her to drive him to Albuquerque. The two got into an argument and Edwards began driving north on Triviz Drive.

As the woman tried calling 911, police said Edwards began punching her and pulling her hair while fighting over the phone.

At around 8:40 p.m., as the two continued fighting over the phone and the Jeep approached Stanton Avenue, the vehicle veered sharply left at which time it was struck on the passenger side by a Ford Ranger that was traveling south. The Ranger then crashed into a rock wall.

Edwards fled the scene before police arrived. His ex-girlfriend was seriously injured.

The driver and passenger of the Ranger were not seriously injured.

Edwards’ ex-girlfriend was airlifted to University Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.

Both vehicles were totaled in the crash.

Edwards is 5-feet-8-inchces tall and weighs approximately 165 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call police at (575) 526-0795.

ORIGINAL:

Police are looking for the driver who allegedly ran away from a car crash in East-Central Las Cruces.

It happened shortly after 9 p.m. at Stanton and Triviz.

Police told ABC-7’s New Mexico Mobile Newsroom a couple was riding in a Jeep when the man driving became distracted and crashed into a Ford pick-up.

The pick-up crashed into a rock wall. Police said the woman in the Jeep was critically injured and flown to University Medical Center in El Paso for treatment.

Late Thursday, police were still trying to locate the Jeep’s driver.

The driver of the Ford pickup was not injured, according to police.