A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Friday for former Socorro County Sheriff Tom Zimmerman, 68, who was killed Monday while riding a motorcycle on southbound Interstate 25 in a freak accident with his 58-year-old cousin from Arizona, who was driving in the opposite direction, KOAT-TV and El Defensor Chieftain in Socorro are reporting.

The service for Zimmerman, who was chief of police at New Mexico Tech in Socorro before his retirement, will be held at Tech's Macy Center, Action 7 News reported.

"You can't describe it, of all the vehicles that travel up and down the interstate, and to have this happen," Zimmerman's nephew Mark Mercer told KOAT-TV.

Mercer was working with the Socorro County Sheriff's Department helping to control traffic during the Monday afternoon accident and it was only hours later that he realized that both victims were his own relatives, Action 7 News reported.

Debra Hughes, 58, of Mesa, Ariz., was traveling northbound on I-25 en route to see her father, Pete Hughes of San Acacia, when she unaccountably lost control of her white 1993 Infiniti near mile marker 156 north of the Lemitar exit, El Defensor Chieftain reported.

Her car went into the median and struck a tractor-trailer rig in the opposite lanes, driven by William Perez, 43, of Alamogordo, who was unhurt in the accident, according to the paper.

The car then bounced off the tractor rig and struck the Goldwing motorcycle that Zimmerman was riding, and both Hughes and Zimmerman died at the scene, El Defensor Chieftain reported. 

5:30am 3/25/08 -- Strange Twist in I-25 Double Fatal: Arizona woman, Lemitar man who collided near Socorro Monday were cousins.

Two members of the same family were traveling in opposite directions on Interstate 25 near Socorro Monday afternoon when Deborah Hughes of Mesa, Ariz., lost control of her northbound car, crossed the median and struck a southbound semi truck, then a motorcycle driven by her cousin, Tom Zimmerman of Lemitar, according to KRQE News 13.

Hughes was 58, and Zimmerman was 68, according to The Associated Press. 

Hughes, who had lived in Arizona for many years, was on her way to visit her father in New Mexico when the crash occurred, News 13 reported.

Zimmerman served as sheriff in Socorro County in the 1970s and was chief of security at New Mexico Tech in Socorro until his retirement several years ago, KRQE said.

The two were first cousins but were completely unaware of each other on the road Monday afternoon, according to News 13.

Hughes was traveling with her dog, but both were ejected from the car near mile marker 156 and died on impact, KOAT-TV reported.

Zimmerman also died at the scene, Action 7 News reported.

New Mexico Department of Public Safety spokesman Peter Olson told KOB-TV that the crash closed part of the highway and that was diverted onto a frontage road. 

Your Name:

Your Email Address:

Rate this article:
Poor Great

Comment:

BOLD

"QUOTE"

UNDERLINE