SUV Parts Stolen As Accident Victim Remained Trapped Under Vehicle


Carlsbad, NM – New Mexico police arrived on the scene of a fatal crash, finding the wreckage of a 1996 Ford Explorer and the deceased driver along an isolated roadside.

Police assessed the owner and driver of the vehicle, 26-year-old Steven Roy Reese, lost control of the SUV hours earlier while driving the remote stretch between Lea Street and Boyd Drive, near Carlsbad. Overcorrected steering likely caused the vehicle to flip twice, trapping the young man beneath it.

The medical examiner determined the Reese died at least eight to 12 hours before police arrived, either sometime late Tuesday night or early Wednesday. The cause and related aspects of the accident are still being investigated.

Authorities realized sometime after the accident thieves arrived and stole the battery, two Ford factory aluminum rims, and absconded with the vehicle’s Goodyear Wrangler tires. They plundered the SUV as Reese lay dying, pinned beneath the wreckage.

The individuals who removed the items from the SUV will face criminal charges, including the theft as well as failure to give notice of an accident.

The tasteless and illegal act of stealing from a roadside accident is disturbing, but to know the thieves pilfered parts from the SUV as the victim was trapped and dying is incomprehensible. Had the individuals, now being pursued for the theft of parts, rendered aid or called for help Reese could have had a chance at surviving.

A week prior Keith and Amanda Tucker, along with their three young children had a tire blow out on Interstate 40, not far from Albuquerque, while relocating from Sonora, California to Rosser, Texas. They were taken to the hospital for treatment.

The Tuckers accused authorities of failing to secure the accident site, as they lost thousands of dollars in stolen possessions taken from the trailer they were hauling. Although deputies initially retrieved some of the family’s belongings, the Tuckers claim they lost nearly $15,000 in a lost safe, ammunition, a knife collection, and additional personal items.

What do you think of the thieves who pillaged Reese’s SUV and failed to render him aid?

[Image via Shutterstock]

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