Written by Officer Ray Wilson 02/13/2021
Guadalupe County, NM – On February 13, 2021, at around 07:30 a.m., the New Mexico State Police was alerted to a single-vehicle rollover on U.S. Highway 54 near milepost 235 south of Santa Rosa.
The initial investigation indicates that a 2000 Chevy passenger truck driven by Derek Ray Hatfield, 31, of Claude, TX, was traveling north on U.S. 54 when for an unknown reason it left the roadway and rolled. Hatfield was ejected from the vehicle, suffered fatal injuries, and was pronounced deceased on scene by the Office of the Medical Investigator.
Alcohol is not suspected, and a seatbelt does not appear to have been properly worn at the time of the crash. This crash is being investigated by the New Mexico State Police.