Crash claims two Clovis residents

Two Clovis residents were killed, along with a Carlsbad man, when the 2021 Jeep they were traveling in crashed Saturday afternoon about 15 miles southwest of Plains, Texas.

Crystal Mendoza, 40, and Javier Quinonez, 43, both passengers in the Jeep, died at the scene of the crash, according to a Texas Department of Public Safety accident report.

Gage Sandoval, 20, of Carlsbad was driving the Jeep and also died at the scene, according to DPS.

A preliminary investigation showed the Jeep was traveling northbound on FM 769, approaching the intersection with U.S. 82 when a 2023 Ford Edge was traveling southwest on U.S. 82, approaching the intersection with FM 769, according to the DPS report.

The Jeep failed to yield the right of way at the stop sign and “pulled directly in the path of (the Ford), and both vehicles collided in the intersection,” the report shows.

Three people were in the Ford; one was treated for a “serious injury,” DPS reported but the others were not injured.