APD: Deadly crash began with man speeding away from officer on stolen motorcycle

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Albuquerque police said a crash Thursday night that killed two people began with a man speeding away from police on a stolen motorcycle.

On Friday, police said they have surveillance video clearly showing what happened.

An APD spokesperson said around 10 p.m. Thursday an officer tried to pull the motorcycle over on Central near 46th. The driver had one person, either a girl or a woman, riding with him.

He sped away going east, and the officer didn’t follow.

Approaching the nearby intersection of Central and Atrisco, police said the motorcycle driver was running a red light when he crashed into an SUV headed north. The SUV had a green light, police said.

The SUV then hit a truck, and at least two people in one of those vehicles had to go to the hospital.

Police have not named either person on the motorcycle, who both died in the crash.

People who live and work in the area of Central and Atrisco said speeding and other reckless driving is common there.

“They just don’t care, and they just drive really fast,” said Jose Rodriguez, who said he lives nearby.

He said he often doesn’t feel safe driving through the intersection.

“Sometimes I don’t because sometimes I’m here with my kids, with my family, and it’s really dangerous. A lot of people are really careless the way they drive.”

Bessie Romero owns a business, “Bessie’s,” just off the intersection, where she sells arts and crafts.

“You just see them zoom by, and then all of a sudden you hear an explosion and you know there was an accident. Right there at Atrisco and Central we’ve seen so many,” Romero said. “It’s getting worse and worse.”

She said drivers race on that stretch of Central.

“When it turns green you just have to wait, because you know somebody is going to run a red,” Romero said. “And they’re going into the bike lanes because they’re impatient.”

People said they see police giving tickets, but they’d like to see more officers patrolling in the area.

When KOB 4 asked an APD spokesperson if they’d like to respond to those comments, they said the reason they were trying to pull the driver over was because they were patrolling in the area, and their operations have specifically included a focus on license plate violations.

Police say the motorcycle in the Thursday night crash was reported stolen in 2015, and the driver who died had a gun at the time of the crash.