On Oct. 17, 2025, a sentence handed down in connection with a 2020 Interstate 40 collision west of Gallup brought a measure of legal closure to families who say they waited years for justice. Paramveer Singh, the semi-truck driver involved in the October 23, 2020 crash that killed local residents Kim Cloud, 62, and Mike Rathbun, 68, was sentenced to 12 years with eight years suspended — resulting in four years to be served in prison — according to reporting by KOB 4.

The October 2020 crash unfolded in a construction zone on I-40 and prompted an investigation by the McKinley County Sheriff's Office. Initial local coverage by the Gallup Sun documented the multi-vehicle collision and the community shock at the time. Families of the victims, including stepson Dan McCormick and relatives of Rathbun, pressed McKinley County District Attorney Bernadine Martin’s office to pursue charges in the months after the crash, but no prosecution was filed for several years.

The prolonged delay triggered intervention by the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office. State prosecutors moved to assume jurisdiction after what they characterized as years of inaction at the county level. The timing of the sentencing coincided with heightened scrutiny of District Attorney Martin: the New Mexico Supreme Court on the same day advanced the attorney general’s petition seeking Martin’s removal from office, citing alleged patterns of misconduct. Local reporting and a KOB 4 investigation in 2023 had already exposed a broader pattern of unprosecuted deaths and delayed prosecutions in McKinley County.

Beyond the criminal case itself, the episode has resonant implications for day-to-day life in McKinley County. Interstate 40 is a vital corridor for residents traveling between Gallup, the Navajo Nation and Albuquerque for work, education and medical care. Construction zones and heavy commercial traffic on that route create persistent safety vulnerabilities, with disproportionate consequences for tribal members and rural families who depend on the corridor. Community advocates and local officials have said delays in prosecution can erode public confidence in local justice systems, potentially discouraging reporting of dangerous driving or other incidents and straining already limited emergency response resources in the county.

The case also highlights tensions between local and state authority when accountability questions arise. The attorney general’s takeover of the prosecution and the Supreme Court’s consideration of removal proceedings against the McKinley County DA raise questions about oversight, transparency and the mechanisms available to address persistent prosecutorial shortcomings in rural jurisdictions.

Further verification remains necessary on some procedural details, including the precise date the attorney general formally assumed the case and whether any plea agreement or other disposition details beyond the sentence were part of the record. Local news outlets and the families involved will likely continue to seek follow-up answers as this matter moves from sentencing into community reckoning over road safety, prosecutorial responsibility and the search for reforms to prevent similar lapses in the future.