Power Outage Hits New Mexico: Police Link It To Fatal Crash

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A power outage hit parts of central New Mexico, and police linked it to a fatal crash. Power went out in parts of Albuquerque, Santa Fe and elsewhere Sunday evening. Santa Fe police say in a news release that that a 40-year-old motorcycle rider died when he was hit by a motorist as he was stopped at a flashing traffic signal caused by the outage. They say alcohol was not believed to have been involved. Public Service Company of New Mexico says the outage began about 7:40 p.m. when lightning hit a substation. The company says that at the height of the outage, about 135,000 customers were without power. It says energy was restored everywhere after about three hours. The Albuquerque Journal reported that the outage snarled traffic due to inoperable stop lights.