Reports: Officer at ‘normal’ speed in deadly accident

Pedestrian in dark clothing struck by police car at night

A Santa Fe man who was fatally struck by a city police patrol car in mid-February was crossing Cerrillos Road in a dark area near Jorgensen Lane without a crosswalk and was wearing dark clothing, according to reports released Thursday.

A crash report by the Santa Fe County Sheriff ’s Office says witnesses told investigators that Santa Fe police Officer Lucas Sena, 28, was traveling at a “normal” rate of speed, about 40 mph to 45 mph in the 45 mph area, around 11:40 p.m. Feb. 16 when he struck Francisco Navarette, 41, who later died at a hospital.

Navarette was unemployed, the sheriff ’s office report says, but it offers few other details about the man. The report spells the man’s last name as “Naverette.”

Sena, who has been with the Santa Fe Police Department for nearly four years, was transporting a woman to the county jail at the time of the incident. He has not been cited, said Juan Ríos, a sheriff ’s office spokesman. Deputies are still investigating the case and trying to reconstruct the crash scene, Ríos said, and a more comprehensive report will be released at a later date.

Greg Gurulé, a police spokesman, said Sena was placed on a three-day administrative leave after the crash but has since returned to duty. The department will begin an internal investigation after the sheriff ’s office concludes its investigation into Navarette’s death, as per policy, Gurulé said.

The police department also released an initial report of the incident Thursday. City police were the first to respond to the scene, but they immediately turned over the investigation to the sheriff ’s office because of Sena’s involvement.

Sena told deputies that he was driving southbound in the middle lane of Cerrillos Road when he saw a “dark silhouette moving from east to west,” according to the sheriff’s office report.

When he realized it was a person crossing the road, Sena said, he hit the brakes but didn’t have enough time to avoid striking Navarette, the report says. Sena said he got out of his patrol car, checked on the victim and called for paramedics.

One of the witnesses in the case is 41-year-old Mandy Hontz, the woman Sena had arrested on a warrant and was transporting to the jail. She told deputies Sena was driving about 40 mph when he struck Navarette. According to the report, Hontz said she didn’t see the man in the dark street before he was hit and that Sena tried to stop the patrol car but didn’t have time.

Hontz said Sena appeared to be in shock after he called for an ambulance, the report says.

Kathy Lopez, who was walking south on a sidewalk along Cerrillos Road that night, said Sena’s patrol car seemed to be going at a “normal speed” before the crash, the report says. She told deputies she didn’t see the man crossing the street, the report says, but she heard a “loud explosion” and saw a “nude male flying in the air,” the report says.

Stephanie Martinez and Jeremy Valdez, two other witnesses who said they were traveling in a vehicle behind the patrol car when Sena struck the man, initially left the scene after checking on Sena and Navarette, but they later returned to give a statement to deputies.

Martinez told investigators she was driving 45 mph and that Sena gradually pulled away from her vehicle, the report says.

As she was approaching the intersection of Camino Carlos Rey, less than half a mile northeast of Jorgensen Lane, Martinez said, she saw Navarette begin to walk across the southbound lanes of Cerrillos Road from the median, the report says. Valdez said he didn’t see the man, according to the report.

After the crash, Martinez said, she parked her vehicle at a nearby business. When she spoke with Sena, she thought he seemed to be panicking, according to the report. He asked if anyone had witnessed the accident, she told deputies, and she replied that she had seen it, but the officer didn’t listen to her, the report says.

Sena shook Navarette, Martinez told deputies, and tried to lift him but then put him back down, the report says.

Valdez told investigators that he noticed the man’s pants had fallen around his ankles and his shirt was lifted up around his neck, the report says.

The Santa Fe police report says Navarette’s dark clothing was hanging off his body.