Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
A second Nara Visa motorcyclist has died in three days in separate traffic accidents.
According to a news release from New Mexico State Police, officers were dispatched about 9 p.m. Aug. 1 to milepost 98 of Highway 104 north of Tucumcari in San Miguel County.
The initial investigation indicated a 2002 Harley Davidson, driven by Robert S. Evans, 60, of Nara Visa, was traveling east when it struck a deer on the roadway.
Evans suffered fatal injuries, the release stated. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead by the Office of the Medical Investigator.
Alcohol was not a factor in this crash, state police stated.
On July 30, John Alfonso Tafoya, 45, of Nara Visa died in a motorcycle crash on U.S. 54.
Tafoya was riding a small 212cc motorcycle west in the right lane of westbound U.S. 54. For unknown reasons, Tafoya veered into the side of a semi-tractor trailer also traveling west in the left lane of U.S. 54. Tafoya sustained fatal injuries in the collision.
Alcohol also did not appear to have been a factor in the crash, state police reported.
New Mexico State Police public information officer Ray Wilson noted in both cases that neither rider was wearing a helmet.
“In 2021, there were 55 reported fatal motorcycle crashes in New Mexico. Of those, 35 riders were not wearing a helmet,” Wilson stated in an email.
“Wearing a helmet while riding your motorcycle is the most effective thing you can do to prevent serious injury or death during a crash. The New Mexico State Police strongly urges all riders and passengers on motorcycles to wear their helmets on every single ride.”
New Mexico law requires helmets only for motorcycle riders younger than 18 years old.