Santa Fe police release new details on deadly crash involving city employee

Video: Our initial report. SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) — The Santa Fe Police Department released new details on Tuesday about a deadly crash involving a city employee from late March. According to police, the driver, who they identified as Roberto Armijo, is not currently facing charges in connection to the case. Police say investigation concluded Armijo's actions "were carless." Armijo told responding officers he put the city vehicle in gear instead of reverse, then pressed the accelerator pedal, leading the vehicle to drive onto a median where Harley Smith was sitting on a bench. The vehicle struck Smith, who died on the scene. Officers did not "observe Mr. Armijo to have any signs of impairment due to alcohol and/or drugs." Interviews and video footage do not lead police to believe Armijo intended to cause the crash. Under New Mexico State law, traffic citations cannot be issued for careless driving on private property. Police say the driver would need to meet the threshold of "reckless driving which results in the death of a human being to criminally charge the offense of vehicular homicide." Law requires one of these criteria to be met in order to charge someone with vehicular manslaughter: Santa Fe police say they are continuing to review state laws and traffic ordinances to make sure all avenues have been evaluated, and to determine if the investigating officer is lawfully permitted to issue a traffic citation or file criminal charges.