Senior Police Officer Robert Eric Duran

Robert Eric Duran

Senior Police Officer Robert Duran was killed in a vehicle crash while pursuing who was initially believed to be a carjacking suspect near mile marker 286 on I-25, south of the Old Pecos Trail exit.

Officers responding to the initial call of a carjacking and abduction located the vehicle near the intersection of Sawmill Road and St. Francis Drive. The driver led officers on a pursuit that went onto the interstate. As the vehicle continued to flee southbound, it crossed the median and continued driving southbound in the northbound lanes until colliding with an oncoming car. Two patrol cars were also involved in the crash.

Officer Duran and a retired firefighter driving the other vehicle were killed in the crash. The driver of the fleeing vehicle and another officer were injured. It was later determined that the woman driving had made up the story and had told the unwitting 911 caller she was being abducted. Further investigation revealed that the woman had been charged with making a similarly false report six months earlier.

Following the crash, she was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and numerous other felonies. In 2024, she was found guilty of two counts of murder and four felonies, receiving life sentences for each murder and an additional 60 years.

Officer Duran had served with the Santa Fe Police Department for seven years and was assigned to the Patrol Section and the Emergency Response Team. He is survived by his wife and two sons.