Crash leaves family stranded in New Mexico

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EDGEWOOD, N.M. – A family traveling from their new home in Arkansas, to Washington state, is now stranded in New Mexico.

The couple said they were on I-40 near Clines Corners when traffic slowed down. The tractor trailer behind them did not. It hit their Dodge Ram truck, and the couple said they spun onto the opposite side of the highway. They’re fine physically, but their 11-year-old dog Rossko was thrown from the camper top on the truck, about 100 feet from the crash site.

A client of Vista Larga Animal Hospital passed by just moments after the crash, and took the injured dog to the hospital.

"It wasn’t even can we come, we are on our way,” said Erin Loftus, office manager at Vista Larga Animal Hospital.

She was one of the first to greet the dog, and help stabilize him last Thursday.

"When they showed up we saw a dog that was in really bad shape and an owner who was devastated,” she said.

The dog’s owners said the only rental they could secure this week is a Uhaul for their belongings. They said all of their nearby lodging options are full because of Balloon Fiesta.

Loftus said the hospital is starting a GoFundMe page for the family, and will take care of Rossko at a discounted rate. The family’s cat is also currently staying at Vista Larga.

"You don’t just say no, you do what you can,” said Loftus.

The family said they’ll stay in New Mexico as long as it takes for Rossko to be stable enough to travel again, which doctors say will be at least a month.