Brothers Brad Gunter, 42, and Chad Gunter, 47, blacksmiths and co-owners of popular restaurant, Ribs BBQ in Cedar Crest, were killed Nov. 9 after a semi-truck veered off I-40 near mile marker 193, headed southeast toward N.M. 333 at a high speed and slammed into their blacksmith shop at 111 Corvin Court near Moriarty.
Torrance County Sheriff David Frazee said the accident is still under investigation, and that investigators are looking a number of scenarios. A warrant was issued to remove the black box from the truck that recorded the trucks movements prior to and during the accident. Frazee said the GPS system had already been removed from the truck as well.
In addition, a CPAP medical sleep device was removed from the truck to analyze the data.
Frazee said the driver did not have drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of the crash. The driver told a Torrance County deputy after the crash that he remembered leaving Albuquerque after eating breakfast and traveling east on I-40, then waking up at University of New Mexico Hospital.
Frazee said the driver will likely not face any criminal charges.
Wow, such a sad story. Did anything get figured out in this investigation after the black box was recovered? It is such a freak accident and what are the chances? Talk about one in a million. Hope they get some answers.