A stolen car chase in the Albuquerque area on Friday night ended in a fiery crash that killed two people, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office said.
Around 11:30 p.m., deputies spotted a stolen vehicle driving near Edith and Candelaria NW and followed it at normal speeds without activating their emergency lights.
The driver of the vehicle then turned off the headlights in an attempt to elude the deputies, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release.
Deputies backed off when air support arrived, and the vehicle was tracked through the city and into the East Mountain area, as it began driving “in an extremely reckless manner, turning on and off its headlights.”
Air support continued following the vehicle to allow for the deployment of spike belts to disable the vehicle.
Those attempts failed.
The vehicle eventually crashed into a tow truck at the intersection of Tramway and Central, where it caught fire.
Deputies and rescue workers removed four people from the burning car.
Two died at the scene and the other two were taken to a hospital. The Sheriff’s Office did not release their names.
The tow truck driver, who complained of injuries, was also transported to a hospital.
Traffic units from the sheriff’s office and Albuquerque Police Department arrived and took over the investigation, which is ongoing.
The conditions of the people injured are unknown.
