Police awaiting autopsy in fatal accident

Portales police will wait for an autopsy report before determining whether charges will be filed against a 16-year-old driving a pickup truck involved in a fatal accident Oct. 30.

Gloria Ann Inge, 71, was struck as she crossed Second Street at the Abilene Street intersection in Portales. She died Oct. 31 at a Lubbock hospital.

Police reports identify the driver as Trevor James Nuckols of Portales.

Nuckols failed to yield to pedestrian traffic in a marked crosswalk, according to a police preliminary report. He has not been cited.

Police Deputy Chief Lonnie Berry said the autopsy report is an important part of their investigation.

“The medical examiners are slow,” Berry said. “If it was in New Mexico, we would have already had the preliminary stuff back, but Texas wants all kinds of little things.”

Berry said once police have the details of Inge’s injuries, then he can tell what part of the vehicle struck her.

“It does matter what her cause of death was,” Berry said. “If the cause of death was a heart attack, as opposed to the crash, then it would affect how we charge someone.”

“We’re probably going to go over to Lubbock this week and wait on their doorstep until they give us something,” Berry said.

Nuckols family members declined to comment, citing advice from their attorney.