Crash still under investigation

CLOVIS — Three months later the crash is still under investigation, but reports shared last week with The News say a Clovis Police officer "failed to yield" in the April 14 motor vehicle collision with a civilian driver.

Documents shared Friday through a public records request did not identify the police officer nor the driver or passenger of the other vehicle involved in the incident. Police Capt. Roman Romero told The News that all three individuals were seen at a hospital for "non-life threatening injuries" and released.

The collision occurred when the officer involved was "driving to the area of the pursuit" that day of Portales homicide suspect fleeing Clovis police in a car, according to a news release.

The incident took place around 4:15 p.m. that day, when the officer was driving north on Gidding Street in a police Ford SUV and the other vehicle was westbound on Seventh Street in a Chevy Tahoe SUV. The officer "approached the intersection of Gidding and Seventh (and) failed to yield at the intersection for traffic and hit (the other vehicle) on the front driver side quarter panel," according to an incident narrative. Airbags deployed on both vehicles; the police SUV ended up "on the curb, in the grass on the south side to Seventh street facing south just west of Gidding Street" and the Tahoe was "parked on the north side of Seventh Street west of Gidding Street facing west."

Officers noted heavy damage to the front of the police SUV and the front left corner of the Tahoe.

The driver of the Chevy told officers he "heard sirens but did not see them until he was at the intersection of Seventh and Gidding which was too late for him to brake."

Police declined to address any administrative follow-up to the incident as it was a "personnel" issue, but Romero said the officer is still active with CPD.