Clovis man struck, killed while walking

A Clovis man was killed by a vehicle Friday evening at the intersection of 10th and Thornton streets.

Fermin Rangel, 53, was transported to Plains Regional Medical Center where he later died as a result of injuries sustained just after 5 p.m., when he was struck by a car, a press release from the Clovis Police Department showed.

The preliminary investigation showed Rangel was walking eastbound on 10th Street. When he came to the northeast corner of 10th and Thornton streets, officials said he stepped from the curb and was struck by a Nissan Maxima driving north on Thornton Street.

The driver of the car voluntarily submitted to a blood test at the hospital and no alcohol was detected in her blood, said officer David Lester with the Clovis Police Department, who responded to the scene.

“There is no indication of any impairment at all (in the driver),” Lester said. “But we did go through the steps to verify that.”

He said the female driver of the car also stopped and assisted at the crash scene. Police would not release the driver’s name Saturday and the crash report was not available.

Rangel’s relatives could not be reached Saturday.

Police officials said the last pedestrian fatality occurred in November 2003 near the intersection of Prince and 21st streets. The same month a report was released from the Surface Transportation Policy Project showing New Mexico tops the nation in pedestrian fatalities.

However, Curry County was not shown to have an exorbitant number of pedestrian deaths.

The highest rates in New Mexico were found in the northern counties, the report showed.