Albuquerque area law enforcement is on a roll, with APD nabbing the latest hit-and-run killer (alleged) after another was apprehended earlier this week. The perpetrator (alleged) of this latest deadly crime, Ramona Ortiz, is someone who is a good candidate for never driving again:
Before her arrest, Ortiz’s boyfriend told officers the two were racing each other home in separate vehicles “as a game” when the crash occurred. He said Ortiz, who court records show has been cited for speeding three times in the past year, drives “aggressive and unsafe.”
Given law enforcement of speeding, to be cited thus three times in the past year just about requires someone drive “aggressive and unsafe” 24/7/365. “Games” often included.
And now Gilberto Mejia is dead due to Ms. Ortiz (allegedly). Of course, this stretch of Central Avenue at/near San Pablo is notorious for speeding, “games,” and the killing of those trying to walk along/across it. As the Journal’s Matthew Reisen wrote last month:
A Journal analysis found that nearly one in five fatal pedestrian crashes in Albuquerque last year occurred in the dimly lighted and highly congested portion of Central Avenue between San Pedro and Eubank, a place Department of Municipal Development officials refer to as “forgotten.”
While violently dangerous dumbshits (allegedly) such as Ms. Ortiz are a menace at all times, roadway engineering is also desperately needed to discourage dumbshits from using this stretch of Central, with its highest rates of pedestrian traffic in town, for their “games.” As proposed at Urban ABQ, one small way to do that would be to put a red light in at Central and San Pablo:
Urban ABQ goes on to note that the City’s newest library branch is scheduled to open right at this currently deadly spot. Not that another reason is needed. This intersection and all of Central Avenue east of San Mateo is a veritable kill zone, to this point “forgotten,” as our own City road department boss put it.
We need to lock the image of the windshield above in our collective minds, and do many things to change this deadly situation, red light at Central and San Pablo included.
Better Burque 
What’s up with making assumptions about her using a HC placard fraudulently? Was that really necessary?
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T: Thanks for reading and your input. Given widespread fraudulent use of such placards entails at least 1% of the utter selfishness required to flee the scene after hitting a human to the point your windshield looks like that depicted above (driver’s side damage, in particular), the speculation of fraudulence came to mind. I’ll try to refrain from such speculations in the future, but don’t know if I’ll always be successful.
Thanks again for reading.
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