The family of a 73-year-old woman hit and killed by an Albuquerque police officer as she sat in her backyard say they?re considering filing a lawsuit.
Flora Aragon was hit in the back and pinned between the officer?s cruiser and a backyard picnic table when the officer lost control of his vehicle while responding to a domestic dispute early Sunday morning.
The officer, 23-year-old Zachariah Floyd, has been placed on administrative leave while the accident is investigated.
Police say that Floyd was trying to pass another car on 53rd Street shortly after midnight Sunday morning when the car in front turned left, forcing Floyd to veer further to the left, through a cinder block wall, and into Aragon who was sitting with her family in her backyard.
?That car just came and slammed into my mom and my mom got the worst impact,? said Tonnie Sanchez, Aragon?s daughter who was sitting with her when the accident happened.
Police have determined that Floyd did not have his emergency lights or siren on at the time, but note that when responding to a domestic violence call it?s up to the officer?s discretion whether to engage those devices.
While APD spokesman John Walsh says speed does not appear to have been a factor in the crash, Tonnie Sanchez disagrees. ?This officer was negligent, he was careless, he was speeding,? she said.
The family has talked with a lawyer about the incident.
