By Vic Vela
Albuquerque Journal
SANTA FE, NM — A 20-year-old man was killed early Thursday after his car left the road and flipped during a chase by a Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputy.
Diego Olivas of Santa Fe was ejected from the vehicle, according to Sheriff Greg Solano.
Olivas was allegedly fleeing from a deputy who spotted him racing another driver westbound on Airport Road, near N.M. 599, just after 1:30 a.m. Olivas’ evasion attempt lasted less than two minutes before he lost control of his 1992 Nissan 240 and crashed on nearby Hart Road. He died Thursday morning at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center.
State Police - the agency took over the case at the request of the Sheriff’s Office - said alcohol does not appear to have been involved in the incident, according to spokesman Peter Olson.
And Solano said Olivas did not have a warrant out for his arrest, which leaves the sheriff wondering why Olivas decided to flee from the deputy in the first place. “It’s a very sad situation,” Solano said. “To lose a young life when basically the only
thing involved was a traffic citation.” According to the sheriff:
Two deputies were in the parking area of a Shell gas station on Airport Road when one of them saw two vehicles racing west. The drivers came to a red light, which Olivas allegedly ran. One of the deputies followed Olivas, while the other attended to the driver of a 1994 four-door Mazda, who stopped at the red light.
From Airport Road, Olivas headed west onto Aviation Drive, an access road for the Santa Fe airport.
Along the way, Olivas turned his headlights off and turned into a parking lot on Aviation. From there, he turned around and drove back east, toward the deputy, who had positioned his squad car sideways on the road in an effort to block Olivas. But Olivas “just drove right around the officer’s car,” Solano said.
The deputy continued the chase, but then “comes across a big dust storm” on Hart Road, created when Olivas’ Nissan left the road and wrecked.
The car rolled, ejecting Olivas, who was not wearing a seat belt. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
The other driver admitted to the deputy that the two were racing, but said he did not know Olivas, according to Solano. The deputy was about to write a citation when he had to respond to the other deputy’s call for aid when Olivas’ vehicle crashed, the sheriff said.
Though the deputy had not gotten the identity of the other driver before leaving him, the sheriff said he did get the license plate number of the Mazda and the driver will be cited.
“Everything happened so fast,” Solano said. “He sent him on his way, but we will locate him and he will get a citation.”
Although Olivas did not have a warrant out for his arrest at the time of the incident, this may not have been
the first time he tried to evade officers. A man matching Olivas’ name and age once faced 2008 charges out of Bernalillo County that included resisting, evading or obstructing an officer; reckless driving; and speeding 11 mph over the speed limit, according to online court records. However, charges in that case were dismissed about two months later. In July 2008, Olivas received a deferred sentence after admitting to failing to yield in a case that was also out of Bernalillo County, those same court records indicate.
Copyright 2010 Albuquerque Journal