LOS LUNAS — Traffic was at a standstill Wednesday evening after a vehicle hit a pedestrian on Daniel D. Fernandez Veterans Memorial Bridge.

Police say Steven Griggs, 52, jaywalked across N.M. 6 over the river bridge in Los Lunas when he was struck by a vehicle heading west. An officer who witnessed the incident reported Griggs did not use the pedestrian crossing at the west side of the bridge.

“At this point, the driver of the vehicle is cooperating 100 percent, and doesn’t appear to be at fault in any way,” Los Lunas Police Chief Frank Lucero told the News-Bulletin.

Shortly after being loaded into a helicopter for medical transport, Griggs succumbed to his injuries.

Lucero said Griggs was known to be experiencing homelessness, and frequented the bosque area near the bridge.

“(We need to ensure) pedestrians are properly utilizing cross walks and the traffic signals to safely cross the street,” Lucero said, “and that goes for bicyclists as well. All of the normal traffic regulations apply to pedestrians and bicyclists. That is something we see a lot of is pedestrians darting across the street and even bicyclists that aren’t adhering to the traffic regulations and it’s dangerous.”

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Makayla Grijalva

Makayla Grijalva was born and raised in Las Cruces. She is a 2020 graduate of The University of New Mexico, where she studied multimedia journalism, political science and history.