Luis Quiroz-Batista, 35, was training for the upcoming Santa Fe Century on the evening of Monday 29 April when he has hit and killed by a pickup truck driven by an 88 year-old man, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican.

Quiroz-Batista was out training on the Santa Fe Century route near Galisteo, New Mexico USA when an elderly male driver made a left-hand turn in front of the cyclist, heard a thud, crashed into the cyclist head-on and violently knocked Quiroz-Batista to the ground.

Although wearing a helmet, Quiroz-Batista died at the scene due to severe injuries.

According to Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputies, the driver then called 911 and told on-scene officers he had been driving at 20mph and “had difficulty seeing due to the setting sun that was shining directly in to his eyes” at the time of the head-on collision, adding that he consumed whiskey about 1.5 hours before the incident.

Upon further investigation, deputies reported that alcohol did not play a role in the crash and they had no suspicions that the elderly driver had been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident.

No charges were filed against the 88 year-old driver and the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office considers the case closed.

In 2017 a similar collision in Santa Fe ended the cycling career of pro rider Irena Ossola after an elderly male driver crashed into her, also claiming “the sun was blinding him and he didn’t see the bicyclist” when he made a left-hand turn in front of Ossola.

Photo Credit: courtesy photo

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