An elderly man has died after being struck by a vehicle near San Mateo Boulevard and Ross Avenue in southeast Albuquerque on Wednesday evening, according to police. He suffered life-threatening injuries and was rushed to a hospital, where he later died.
Albuquerque police officers responded to reports of the crash around 6:30 p.m., as reported by KOAT. The Albuquerque Police Department's Fatal Crash Unit took over the investigation into the collision, which happened in the area of San Mateo Boulevard and Ross Avenue, S.E. KRQE was among the outlets confirming the pedestrian died after being taken to the hospital.
Southbound lanes of San Mateo were closed while officers worked the scene, snarling traffic through the corridor during the investigation. Telemundo Nuevo México, reporting in Spanish, placed the time of the crash at approximately 6:30 p.m. near the same intersection and noted that police said they would release more details about the crash once that information became available.
No Details Yet on Driver or Cause
As of now, authorities have not released the identity of the man who died, nor have they described the driver, the vehicle involved, or what led up to the crash. It also remains unclear whether any citations or charges have been filed in connection with the collision. Police have indicated only that further information will come as the Fatal Crash Unit's investigation continues.
A Familiar Stretch for Pedestrian Crashes
The intersection sits along a stretch of San Mateo that has seen fatal pedestrian crashes before. In September 2025, a pedestrian died at the scene of a crash near Montgomery Boulevard and San Mateo NE, after police said a white truck turning east onto Montgomery from northbound San Mateo struck the person in the crosswalk, according to KRQE.
Another deadly crash in southeast Albuquerque, near Central Avenue and Texas Street, left a woman dead after a silver Ford SUV struck her as she crossed Central east of Texas and then fled the scene, per KOB. Police said the driver, identified as Demetrius Thomas, later returned to the scene and was arrested on charges including homicide by motor vehicle, driving while intoxicated, and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. That case remains separate from Wednesday's crash on San Mateo, with no indication the two are connected.
New Mexico's Pedestrian Death Toll Remains a Flashpoint
Pedestrian deaths have remained a persistent problem across New Mexico, though the exact scale of the issue depends on which count you read. The Albuquerque Journal reported that a Governors Highway Safety Association analysis found 91 pedestrian deaths statewide in 2025 and the nation's highest pedestrian fatality rate, at 4.27 per 100,000 people, while a University of New Mexico report cited in the same Albuquerque Journal story tallied 88 pedestrian deaths for the same year, with a rate of 4.14 that was still the highest in the country. A separate Albuquerque Journal report put the 2025 total at 89 deaths, down from 102 in 2024 and the lowest since the pandemic hit in 2020, while Source NM cited UNM researchers' preliminary data showing 89 pedestrians killed in 2025, the lowest annual total since 2021.
Within the Albuquerque area specifically, an Albuquerque Journal analysis found 43 people were fatally struck by drivers in 2025, down from 50 in 2024 and 56 in 2023. Statewide, 19 people had been killed by drivers in 2026 as of an April report, including six in Bernalillo County, the Journal reported. New Mexico's pedestrian fatality rate, roughly five per 100,000 residents, has ranked the nation's highest for nearly a decade according to federal data cited by Source NM, though the state transportation department has noted improvement in national rankings this year. The New Mexico Department of Transportation's Traffic Safety Division director said the recent decline in deaths could not be attributed to any single intervention, telling Source NM, “We can't say there's any one reason or pedestrian fatalities went down.”
