Suit accuses man of running red light, causing fatal collision

The wife and estate of a Santa Fe man killed in a February car crash on St. Francis Drive have filed a wrongful death and personal injuries lawsuit against the man it claims ran a red light and caused the collision.

The lawsuit, filed last week in District Court, accuses Michel Fidel of running a red light while driving south on St. Francis Drive at the San Mateo Road intersection.

On Feb. 10, Fidel’s 2015 GMC Sierra collided with a Saab 9-3 driven by Paul Bedell, who was turning left from San Mateo onto northbound St. Francis.

Bedell’s son, Christopher Bedell, and his wife, Joan Bedell, filed the lawsuit against Fidel and Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Inc., which owned the vehicle.

The lawsuit seeks punitive damages, court costs, and damages for injuries and death. It claims Fidel was negligent while driving, which led to the crash.

The truck struck the driver’s side of the car. Bedell, 87, died at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center. According to an autopsy report by the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, the complaint states, Bedell suffered a blunt force injury to his torso and extremities.

The passenger in the Saab, Joan Bedell, 92, also was injured in the crash and taken to the hospital, according to the lawsuit. She suffered a head injury, broken sternum and multiple broken ribs.

Although Fidel told investigators he believed he had a green light, a witness said he saw him run a red light and hit the Bedells’ vehicle, a Santa Fe Police Department report states.

An officer ticketed Fidel for careless driving, to which he pleaded not guilty at a March 13 hearing at Santa Fe County Magistrate Court. A non-jury trial is scheduled for April 17.