Family of hit-and-run victim sues city of Albuquerque over intersection safety

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Decorated with flowers and his name, a ghost bike sits at Unser and Kimmick on the west side of Albuquerque where Joe Gamez took his last ride. It was July 2022 when Gamez was riding his bike near Unser Kimmick when he was struck by a vehicle and died days later.

“I was just sobbing. I laid on top of Joe and I was sobbing, and I said, ‘Joe, I’m so sorry this happened to you.’ We made a super difficult but right decision to take him off life support,” his wife, Jeanine Gamez, told News 13 last year.

The driver, Mollie Duran, is now in jail, but the Gamez family’s fight for justice isn’t over. The family is now suing the city of Albuquerque for what they say is its failure to update the intersection where Joe was struck. “He should not have died and one of the reasons is because we believe the intersection is dangerous,” said Joleen Youngers, an attorney for the Gamez family.

The lawsuit criticizes the intersection for placing the bike lane between traffic lanes. The lawsuit also alleges that Albuquerque’s lack of bike lanes forces cyclists like Gamez to ride on busy streets. “We’re filing this lawsuit in the hopes that there will be improvements. Improvements for the safety of cyclists, for the safety of motorists, for the safety of the roads,” Youngers said.

For years, the city has been working on a massive road improvement project at Paseo and Unser. The lawsuit alleges that the unfinished project has contributed to increased traffic where Gamez was struck. The massive $45 million project will include widening Paseo and Unser in the area. The city said that bidding for the first phase of the project will begin late this year, noting that these large projects take time.

For the Gamez family, the improvements can’t come soon enough. “We hope to provide the momentum to make this and other roads safer for cyclists,” Youngers said.

Mollie Duran is the driver who killed Joe Gamez. She took a plea deal and was sentenced to nine years in prison. Last year, a judge reduced her sentence to four years.