.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

CARLSBAD — New Mexico police investigating a fatal traffic crash found that somebody stole wheels, tires and the battery from a wrecked SUV as it lay on top of the victim.

Carlsbad police say 26-year-old Steven Roy Reese of Carlsbad was killed either Tuesday night or Wednesday morning when he apparently lost control of his 1996 Ford Explorer on a little-used dirt road.

The Carlsbad Current-Argus reports the medical investigator determined Reese was dead for at least eight hours before police found him.

Police Lt. Jennifer Moyers says removal of the items was both illegal and extremely insensitive. She says possible charges include theft and failure to give notice of an accident.Last weekend, a family involved in a wreck on Interstate 40 wreck near Albuquerque lost possessions worth thousands of dollars after they say authorities failed to secure the crash site.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip

................................................................