A 19-year-old Artesia man was killed Saturday in a single-vehicle accident on West Main Street.
The New Mexico State Police (NMSP) responded just after 6:30 a.m. Saturday to the scene of a single-vehicle wreck near the intersection of Main Street and Centennial Drive, outside the perimeter of ConocoPhillips.
Initial investigation, released Monday afternoon, indicates a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup, driven by Pete Devon Lara Hernandez, 19, of Artesia, was travelling west on Main at a high rate of speed when, for reasons unknown, Hernandez left the roadway and struck a cinder-block fence.
Hernandez was ejected from the vehicle and sustained fatal injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Office of the Medical Investigator.
The NMSP say alcohol does not appear to have been a factor in the wreck, but seatbelts do not appear to have been utilized. The wreck remains under investigation.
