Report provides new details on crash that killed BCSO sergeant

It was just after 5 p.m. on a Monday when Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Michael Schlattman got out of his vehicle and told the driver of the westbound Ford Ranger he had just pulled over to move his truck to a safer portion of the highway.

But before he or the driver could move their vehicles, a tractor-trailer clipped the back of the sergeant’s SUV, pinning him underneath and ultimately killing him.

A traffic report by the Rio Rancho Police Department reveals new details about the Feb. 23 traffic stop that left the BCSO sergeant dead.

RRPD has identified the driver of the semi that initiated the collision, but the Journal is not identifying him since no charges or citations have been filed. The tractor-trailer driver was hospitalized at the University of New Mexico Hospital, but his current status is unknown.

The police report states that Schlattman stopped the 2025 Ford Ranger traveling west on Interstate 40 roughly half a mile from mile marker 171, east of Albuquerque, near Carnuel. Schlattman got out of his vehicle and asked the driver to “pull forward to a safer, more open area of the interstate.”

Moments later, the driver Schlattman pulled over “felt an impact from behind, did not know what caused this impact and pulled off to the side,” the report states. He told responding police officers that he saw Schlattman pinned under his BCSO vehicle and called 911.

The report states the apparent contributing factors to the crash include the semi-driver's failure to yield to police vehicles and that the driver had “low visibility due to glare."

Police arrived on scene and spoke with a witness, who told them he was driving in the middle lane of the highway when he saw Schlattman’s vehicle on the right shoulder, according to the report.

The witness told officers he moved into the left lane to provide space for the semi — traveling in the right lane — to merge into the middle lane as the vehicles neared  Schlattman’s vehicle. 

The witness told police that shortly after, he "witnessed the semi’s front passenger corner clip the Sgt.'s rear driver side, which caused the semi to veer into the middle lane and then proceed into the far left lane,” the report states.

According to the witness, the tractor-trailer slammed into the lane barrier, causing it to go over the barrier and break away from the attached trailer.

The report states that the semi driver had not consumed alcohol and that the road was dry and clear.

Nick Army, spokesperson for RRPD, said the investigation is ongoing and police still need to execute a search warrant for the crash data recorder from the semi, issue a search warrant for the semi driver’s cellphone and finish interviews with eyewitnesses.

RRPD has taken over the investigation to mitigate any conflict of interests, according to an email from the agency.

“As the investigation remains active, we appreciate everyone’s understanding and patience as investigators continue their work,” RRPD wrote in an email. “Additional updates will be provided as more information becomes available.”

Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.