A driver was killed after police say he ran a red light on west Central and another car crashed into him, pinning his car against an Albuquerque Rapid Transit bus station platform Wednesday morning.
Officer Simon Drobik, an Albuquerque Police Department spokesman, said witnesses to the crash told police that around 7 a.m. Wednesday a silver car traveling eastbound on Central ran a red light at Yucca SW. He said a couple in a red car were traveling northbound through the intersection on Yucca when they collided, sending the first car spinning into the bus platform.
“Because of the way the cars were moving, a secondary accident happened,” Drobik said. “Those vehicles started spinning clockwise and the individual in the car that was heading eastbound ran into the ART platform and came to a stop. The driver of that vehicle was deceased on scene.”
Drobik said the couple in the other car were not seriously injured. They were examined by rescue personnel at the scene and then left. Drobik did not identify anyone who was involved.
He said they don’t have any indication alcohol or speed was a factor at this time.
The ART project has been wildly controversial since its inception and many community members have complained that the designated lanes, the new lights and the platforms are hard to navigate.
Drobik said witnesses reported that the driver who ran the light may have been driving in a designated bus lane. However, he said officers are still investigating to see whether the ART project’s features could have contributed to the crash.
“I don’t know if there was any confusion since the witnesses said he ran the red light, but the contributing factors could be the station itself and how the vehicles met in the middle,” Drobik said.
Nicole Gonzales, who drives on Central twice a day on her way to and from work, said she has seen lots of confusion relating to that intersection and others with the bus platforms.
She said she was about a block away from Yucca Wednesday when the crash occurred. She said by the time she got to the intersection about 10 other drivers had stopped to try to help after the crash.
“The tires were still spinning in the back of the car,” Gonzales said. “There was a man in a red jacket and he was trying like crazy to get the other door open. He knew someone was pinned in that car.”
