TOME—A 35-year-old Los Lunas man was killed in a two-vehicle crash on N.M. 47 in Tomé Tuesday morning.
Shortly after 10 a.m., Dec. 3, Nicholas Craig Littlefield, who was driving his motorcycle southbound on N.M. 47, collided with a northbound pickup driven by a 64-year-old man from Tomé.
The crash occurred near the Tomé Post Office and closed down the highway in both directions for several hours.
“At some point, the vehicles collided and that is still under investigation,” Valencia County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Joseph Rowland said midday Tuesday. “(The driver of the truck) refused transport (to the hospital) and later departed the scene.”
VCSO provided the identity of the man driving the truck, but the News-Bulletin will not publish it unless he is charged with a crime.
Rowland said Littlefield was pronounced dead at the scene, and the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator is investigating the cause of death.
Littlefield was on his way to classes at the University of New Mexico-Valencia campus the day of the crash, his sister, Britney Tucker said.
“He was thriving in college, which was opening up so many new opportunities that he will never seize,” said Tucker. “He had endured his share of trials and tribulations, but he always pushed through to better days.”
His sister said Littlefield had “a love for motorcycles, fast cars, and freedom,” and took pride in working in the oil fields, until an accident changed his direction.
“He always made life exciting and had luck on his side,” she said. Littlefield was born in Show Low, Ariz., on Oct. 18, 1984, and grew up in Los Lunas. He was a middle school state wrestling champion, a New Mexico Junior wrestler, a bull rider, dirt biker, mechanic and so much more, Tucker said.
He graduated from Los Lunas High School in 2003.
Littlefield is survived by his mother, Julie Tucker; grandmother, Sonja McNeil; sister, Britney Tucker; nephews, Laden and Mason of Los Lunas; his father, Rick Littlefield; stepmother Linda Littlefield; sister, Lauren, and brother, Cameron, of Pampa, Texas.
A celebration of Littlefield’s life will be held at 9 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 7, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 160 James St. NW, Los Lunas.
Julia M. Dendinger began working at the VCNB in 2006. She covers Valencia County government, Belen Consolidated Schools and the village of Bosque Farms. She is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists Rio Grande chapter’s board of directors.
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April 18, 2024
