ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Adorned with flowers and his name, a ghost bike at Unser and Kimmick on Albuquerque’s west side stands where Joe Gamez took his last ride. It was July of 2022 when Gamez was riding his bike near Unser Kimmick when he was hit by a vehicle and died days later.
“I just sobbed. I laid on Joe and sobbed, and I said ‘Joe, I am so sorry that this happened to you.’ We made a super hard but right decision to pull him off the ventilator,” said his wife, Jeanine Gamez, to News 13 last year.
The driver, Mollie Duran, is now in prison but the Gamez family’s fight for justice isn’t over. The family is now suing the City of Albuquerque for what they said is a failure to update the intersection where Joe was hit. “He shouldn’t of died and one of the reasons is a dangerous intersection in our view,” said Joleen Youngers, attorney for the Gamez family.
The lawsuit calls out the intersection for having the bike lane in between traffic lanes. The suit also claims the lack of bikeways in Albuquerque forces cyclists like Gamez to ride on busy streets. “We’re bringing this lawsuit hoping there are improvements. Improvements for bicyclist safety for motorist safety, for that roadway safety,” said Youngers.
For years, the city has been working on a massive road improvement project on Paseo and Unser. The lawsuit claims that the unfinished project contributed to increased traffic where Gamez was hit. The massive project will cost $45 million and includes the widening of Paseo and Unser in the area. The city said bidding for the first phase of the project will start at the end of the year and noted that these big projects take time.
For the Gamez family, the improvements can’t come soon enough. “We hope to help provide the impetus to make it and other roadways for cyclists safer,” said Youngers.
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 cut her sentence down to four years.