Body camera shows suspect after fatal Albuquerque hit-and-run crash

Body camera video captured Gilbert Nunez-Guzman speaking with Albuquerque police after investigators say he left the scene of a crash that killed cyclist Robert Montoya at Carlisle Boulevard and Claremont Avenue NE. In the recording, Nunez-Guzman told officers he had just gotten off a graveyard shift and did not see the bicyclist in the crosswalk as he turned through the intersection. The footage adds a rare glimpse into how officers and prosecutors built a hit-and-run case that quickly became both a criminal investigation and a test of Albuquerque’s traffic-safety priorities.

Police found Nunez-Guzman hours after the May 11 crash after his girlfriend called with their location. Albuquerque police used a drone to locate his damaged car at a hotel on Ellison, and investigators later focused on items they say had been removed from the vehicle, including the license plate and a Baby On Board magnet. Detectives wanted those items back as evidence, and prosecutors argued in a pretrial detention motion that he also removed a sticker and the plate in an effort to cover up the crash.

Nunez-Guzman is charged with leaving the scene of a crash with great bodily harm and evidence tampering. Under New Mexico law, leaving the scene of an accident that results in great bodily harm or death can be charged as a fourth-degree felony, while knowingly failing to stop in such a case can be charged as a third-degree felony. He has pleaded not guilty and was out of jail awaiting trial.

The crash has sharpened scrutiny on Carlisle and Claremont, a busy corridor just north of Interstate 40 that BikeABQ says has seen at least six pedestrian or cycling crashes in the last seven years. Patrick Martin of BikeABQ has pointed to New Mexico’s low traffic violation fines and said the state needs stronger safety enforcement and infrastructure changes. For riders and drivers alike, the intersection has become a case study in how quickly one violent crash can expose broader weaknesses in roadway design and deterrence.

Montoya’s death also fits into Albuquerque’s wider traffic-fatality problem. The City of Albuquerque’s Vision Zero program says its goal is zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries, but preliminary 2024 crash data showed at least 94 people were killed while traveling on city streets. Family members described Montoya as “a big teddy bear,” and BikeABQ said his death renewed calls for safer streets and stronger protections for people on bikes in Bernalillo County.