Santa Fe Police ‘prematurely' release report into deadly crash involving city employee
SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – The Santa Fe Police Department provided an update on its investigation into a deadly crash outside Santa Fe Place Mall involving a city employee.
According to a news release from SFPD, an initial crash report that indicated 'no driver error' under contributing factors was released prematurely. Police said it is still investigating the crash that involved a city employee who hit and killed 75-year-old Harley Smith on March 24.
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Police said on the day of the crash that the city employee in a Honda Civic claimed they put the vehicle in drive instead of reverse and pressed the gas pedal, causing the vehicle to drive over the curb.
The vehicle hit a bench that Smith was sitting on and he died at the scene, police said
SFPD stated in the news release that the final determination of the cause of the crash will be made and included at the conclusion of the investigation, which may take several weeks. The results of the investigation will be made available to the public.
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