Police: Woman dead, 2 children injured after hit-and-run accident

SANTA FE, NM – Police are seeking information about a crash Tuesday that left a woman dead and two children injured.

Sometime after 6:10 p.m. Tuesday, Santa Fe County officers responded to a call on Paseo de Nopal and discovered three people had been struck by a vehicle. They identified the people as an 8-year-old, a 12-year-old and a 40-year-old woman.

Paramedics took the woman to Christus St. Vincent Hospital in critical condition. She later died from her injuries. Police identified her as 43-year-old Monique Maes.

The children suffered minor injuries and were released.

The police located the suspicious vehicle in the case. They also identified the suspect as 29-year-old Mario Israel Mendez. Mendez faces multiple charges, including vehicular homicide and two counts of child abuse.

If you have any information or know where Mendez is, call the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office at the non-emergency number at 505-428-3720.