Crash in Las Cruces kills 88 year old woman

A two vehicle crash on Avenida de Mesilla, near the eastbound I-10 on-ramp killed an 88-year-old Las Cruces woman Sunday morning.

Investigators say officers first responded to reports of a crash at nine thirty Sunday morning.

Traffic investigators say 88 year old Lois Johns Decker was driving eastbound on Avenida de Mesilla near the I-10 underpass when a 2018 Ford Explorer driven by 28 year old Nikhil Kuamr Sandugula made a left hand turn towards the I -10 on ramp directly into the path of Decker’s Lincoln MKS.

The crash trapped Decker in her car and knocked her unconscious but a passerby took her out of the vehicle and provided initial care before paramedics arrived.

The 88 year old driver was transported to Mountainview Regional Medical Center where she died a little after 11 a.m.

Sandugula and his three passengers – a 28-year-old woman, a 26-year-old woman and a 27-year-old man were all transported to Memorial Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.

Sandugula has been issued a citation for failure to yield to oncoming traffic.