Copyright © 2018 Albuquerque Journal
An 11-year-old boy died after being hit by an SUV while riding his bicycle in a Northeast Albuquerque neighborhood Friday afternoon, according to police.
Albuquerque Police Department spokesman Daren DeAguero said two boys were riding bikes west on Los Arboles, trying to cross Moon NE, when one of them was hit by a woman driving an SUV heading north.
“One of the kids saw the car and stopped,” he said. “The other one didn’t.”
DeAguero said the boy died at the scene.
He said the crash occurred around 4 p.m. and alcohol was not a factor.
“Right now, it doesn’t look like any fault of the driver,” DeAguero said.
DeAguero said police interviewed the driver, who is very “emotionally distraught.”
“When you see a child lying on the ground, and there is no movement, that’s something that you’re never going to forget,” he said. “It hurts us all.”
DeAguero said police are still investigating whether speed was a factor.
He said the boy lives up the street, on Los Arboles.
“Our prayers go out to the mother,” he said. “That’s not something you want to come out of your house and see.”
DeAguero had a caution for parents to tell their kids.
“It’s summer. If you’re going to be out on your bikes, please, please pay attention to traffic,” he said.
Yellow tape cut across either end of Moon as police vehicles crammed into the intersection at Los Arboles NE. In the middle, investigators walked around the bicycle on the ground, its tires and frame crumpled.
The tragedy comes almost four months after 12-year-old Eliza Almuina was killed when she was struck, and killed, by an SUV as she crossed Louisiana NE with a friend to get back to Cleveland Middle School.
Police called the March 22 crash a “tragic accident” in which one vehicle stopped to let the girls pass, obstructing the view from the SUV that struck Almuina.
The driver faced no charges but the crash sparked a backlash from parents, and the community, on the lack of safety of the school crosswalk on such a busy street.
As a result, City Councilors Diane Gibson and Brad Winter sponsored legislation for a redesign of the crosswalk, in addition to forming a committee to survey other school crosswalks and assess safety concerns to pinpoint possible improvements.
