Unexplained lane departure was cause of fatal crash that killed former LANL director, police say

A woman driving westbound on the main thoroughfare through Los Alamos left her lane and ran head-on into an SUV driven by Charles McMillan, killing him, the Los Alamos Police Department said.

Charles McMillan, 69, was the only person to die in the crash in Los Alamos, N.M. Sept. 6. His wife Janet McMillan, and the driver of the car blamed in the report for the crash, 22 year-old Nadia Lopez of Espanola, N.M., complained of injuries at the site, though none were apparent to the responding officer, Cpl. Robert Stephens. 

Coordinates in the crash report, provided to the ExchangeMonitor by the Los Alamos Police Department after a public records request, show the collision occurred on East Road 502 near Camino Entrada and the Los Alamos County Office, but not in an intersection.

The crash occured at 5:16 a.m. Mountain time on Sept. 6, according to the crash report, which was heavily informed by statements taken at the scene by Janet McMillan. 

According to the report, Janet McMillan said that a sedan “crossed the center line” of the two-lane East Road “and struck” the McMillans’ SUV. The crash was head-on, heavily damaging the driver’s side of both vehicles.

“There are gouge marks in the roadway on the east bound side of the road,” the report said, indicating that the second vehicle “crossed the center line heading into the curve, striking [McMillan’s vehicle].”

The police were notified at 5:18 a.m Mountain time., and arrived at the scene at 5:23 a.m. Janet McMillan said Charles McMillan was trapped in the vehicle, and firefighters had to free him.

“I asked him [Charles McMillan] if he was doing ok and he stated, ‘no,’” Cpl. Robert Stephens wrote in the report. “I could also hear him moaning in pain.”

Charles McMillan was pronounced dead at the Los Alamos Medical Center, the report said. 

Lopez said she did not remember what happened at the crash, and, like Charles McMillan, had to be freed by firefighters from her vehicle. She survived her injuries. The sobriety of both drivers was unknown at the time of the crash, according to the report.

The incident was cleared at 10:51 a.m. Mountain time, that morning. An investigation is still underway, according to the report.

Local Los Alamos news outlet Boomtown first reported on the police department’s official account of the crash.