On Friday morning, an Albuquerque Police Department officer was charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving serious injuries while he was not on duty.
He struck a pedestrian Thursday night at Central Avenue and Coors Boulevard while riding a motorcycle at a high speed, according to APD. The motorcycle was also carrying another off-duty police at the time of the collision.
According to the police, 29-year-old Ezekiel Florez is accused of intentionally fleeing the scene of an accident while seriously injured. Florez has been put on administrative leave while APD conducts an internal investigation. According to authorities, Officer Krystal Garcia was a passenger on the motorcycle at the time of the collision.
According to witnesses, the pedestrian was running south across Central at the crosswalk when he was struck by a white motorcycle carrying two riders. The surveillance footage revealed that the westbound light on Central was green.
The motorcycle was speeding at the time of the collision, according to the inquiry. The crash did not stop it from continuing westward.
Later, Garcia, the police who was riding with Florez, called another officer and reported the collision. Investigators were notified after that officer told a supervisor. Later, Florez and Garcia came back to the spot and were taken into custody.
The unidentified man who was a pedestrian had potentially fatal head injuries. He is in critical condition after being transported to a nearby hospital. According to Florez, he observed the person sprinting across the junction but was unable to get out of the way in time, causing the pedestrian to collide with the motorcycle’s right side.
Investigators saw that Florez and Garcia waited for several hours after the collision before returning to the scene, and they neglected to call for medical assistance, according to APD. Garcia has been put on administrative leave but has not been charged with any crimes.
