I-40 crash claims animal rescuer, puppy

TUCUMCARI, N.M. (KRQE) - An animal-rescue volunteer and the adopted puppy she was helping relay to its new owner died Saturday when freezing fog iced over Interstate 40 in Tucumcari.

Catherine Bugg of Tucumcari had picked up the puppy in Santa Rosa and was headed to Amarillo, Texas, when her pickup slid off I-40 and into oncoming traffic Saturday morning and hit a tractor-trailer rig.

Bugg and the 8-week-old puppy named Elyse died in the crash.

The semi then hit another vehicle and pinned it against the median barrier where both caught fire, New Mexico State Police reported.

The occupants escaped the fire. Their names and the extent of any injuries have not been released.

I-40 was shut down for about six hours because of the crash and to allow highway workers to sand and salt the pavement.

Sleet had been reported earlier in the day, and at the time of the crash weather conditions were described as a combination of fog and mist with an air temperature of 19 degrees Fahrenheit (-7 Celsius).

Bugg worked with Tucumcari Volunteer Animal Rescue but at the time was transporting the puppy for Rescue Road Warriors, a separate volunteer group that helps transport fostered pets to their new homes.

A statement from the group said the puppy was on its way to its new home in New York.

In a Facebook posting , Kerin Hanson of Rescue Road Warriors wrote that Bugg's life was dedicated to animal rescue.

"The driver that met her at the handoff in Santa Rosa, NM said that Catherine was cheerful, friendly, and completely dedicated to what she was doing. That she drove rescue transport often and knew the roads very well," Hanson added.

The posting said the puppy had been removed from a shelter for fostering two weeks ago although it did not say from where.