An Artesia Police Cpl. involved with an investigation was killed when his City of Artesia owned vehicle collided with a semitrailer on U.S. 285 north of Artesia Friday morning, State and Artesia Police said. 

An initial investigation indicated 42-year-old Thomas Wade Frazier was traveling north on U.S. 285 around 10:45 a.m. in a pickup truck which crashed into the rear of the semitrailer as it was turning into the Creek Side Dairy located near milepost 77, State Police said in a news release. Artesia Police Department officer killed in crash with semi truck

Because the bottom of a truck is higher than the bumper of passenger vehicles, when there is a collision the smaller vehicle easily slides under the truck and the first point of impact is the windshield. Seatbelts, airbags, and car crumple zones do not function as intended in underride crashes —front, side, and rear — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.

Thomas Wade Frazier, Precious One Gone Too Soon

See Underride Crash Memorials posted here and at #STOPunderrides Tweets. To add photos or more information on this story or to add other underride crashes to be remembered, send an email to underridemap@gmail.com. Please use this Interactive Underride Crash Map Crash Location Input Form to provide us with accurate information . (Note: the map is currently not online; but we would keep the information for future updating and to aid in underride advocacy efforts.)

Support improving Underride Protection on trailers: Contact your legislators with this User-Friendly TAKE ACTION online tool.

How You Can Help

Please sign this petition: Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underrides.

Note: In order to raise awareness and preserve the memories of underride victims — precious ones gone too soon — I have been writing memorial posts on what appear to me to be underride crashes. I am not a crash reconstructionist, and I do not have all the facts on these crashes; but I think that underride should be investigated as a potential factor in truck crash injuries and deaths.