Car Crash Concealed Couple’s Murder-Suicide, Officials Say

The investigation of the apparent traffic deaths of a Reno couple has taken a dramatic turn, and authorities now believe that both victims were shot to death in a murder-suicide.

Nevada County sheriff’s investigators speculate that Roberto and Araceli Gallegos had an argument in their moving car and that, as he drove, Roberto Gallegos shot his pregnant wife several times before turning the handgun on himself.

The car smashed through a guardrail in the center divider, sped across the eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 and crashed into some trees.

In addition to Roberto Gallegos, 26, and Araceli Gallegos, 22, officers found the couple’s 6-year-old son, Christopher, in the wrecked car.

The boy, who was in the back seat, suffered a broken leg and was treated at Tahoe Forest Hospital in Truckee. He was released to a relative Monday.

Nevada County Sheriff’s Capt. Gary Jacobson said investigators have had several interviews with the boy, but he would not discuss what the 6-year-old has told them.

The crash occurred Friday afternoon on Interstate 80 about a mile from the agricultural inspection station in Truckee.

CHP Sgt. Steve Shero said officers initially deemed the case a traffic accident, believing the driver simply lost control.

But on Sunday, when a Nevada County pathologist detected what he thought were bullet wounds to the victims’ heads, the sheriff’s office took a second look at the case.

Sheriff Keith Royal said his officers searched the wreckage and found a handgun and two spent rounds of ammunition.