Back-to-back pedestrian deaths in Las Cruces prompt road safety talk

LAS CRUCES — Two fatal crashes involving vehicles and pedestrians in the course of a week prompted calls for focused attention from city councilors Monday.

On Nov. 26, a pedestrian who has not yet been identified was struck by a northbound BNSF freight train some time before 2 p.m. on a stretch of track running parallel to S. Main Street, just over a mile from downtown. First responders reported finding a man with multiple injuries who was pronounced dead at the scene. The train stopped while the investigation took place, affecting traffic at two intersections crossed by railroad tracks. The Las Cruces Police Department said the victim would not be identified until next of kin were notified.

Then, at about 6:45 a.m. Saturday, Doña Ana County resident Julio Caro, 32, was killed after being hit by a car on Triviz Drive, a two-lane road without sidewalks running north and south past the New Mexico State University campus, parallel to Interstate 25. The collision occurred between Film Street and Cholla Road, an area that is slowly being developed: Doña Ana Community College’s creative media technology building, which sits nearby, opened last year, and a soundstage for movie production is slated for construction a short distance from the crash scene.

NMSU police said the driver of the vehicle was “fully cooperative” with investigators and that alcohol did not appear to have been a factor. No criminal charges against the driver were pending.

According to data reported by the Mesilla Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization, long-term trends show traffic fatalities rising in Las Cruces and areas south. In 2023, there were 19 fatalities reported including drivers, passengers, motorcyclists, pedestrians and bicyclists.

George Pearson, a bicycling advocate who has sat on committees advising the city on traffic safety, said there are fatalities that fall through the cracks, as pedestrians hit by trains or in parking lots may not be included in road audits and traffic statistics.

“Those essentially disappear because they didn’t happen on roadways — they don’t get added to statistics anyplace,” he said.

At Monday’s city council meeting, Pearson urged councilors to pursue solutions based on the Vision Zero program enacted in Albuquerque, which envisions street design based on all road users, in and out of vehicles. Albuquerque unveiled its “Vision Zero Action Plan” in 2021 with a goal of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries in the city by 2040.

In Las Cruces, organizations advocating for the city to adopt a Vision Zero plan include cycling nonprofit Velo Cruces and Vulnerable Road Users New Mexico. Pearson provided input into road safety measures that were part of sweeping code changes enacted this year.

At the end of the meeting, city councilors Johana Bencomo and Cassie McClure both echoed the need to consider the issue as the city addresses growth and several metropolitan redevelopment districts across New Mexico’s second-largest city.

“Maybe we need to have a little bit more discussion about what road safety looks like for different users,” McClure said. “I know there’s a desire for us to be bold about not losing more people on our streets.”

“I do think we need to revisit that conversation more seriously, around Vision Zero,” Bencomo added.