Portales resident killed by train

PORTALES — A Portales resident was struck and killed by a train between Main Street and Avenue B about 8:30 Monday night.

Jose Lucero was 71.

Pauline Ornelas, Lucero’s niece, told The News that Lucero was walking to his father’s house, as he does every day.

Ornelas said she did not know what Lucero would have been doing on the tracks, hypothesizing that perhaps he had tripped and could not get back up. She said police told her that he was just lying on the tracks when he was hit.

Ornelas said Lucero was retired from his work on the family farm and enjoyed singing and playing the guitar and accordion with his father.

“He was always laughing, he was a good guy,” Ornelas said.