An Albuquerque family wants changes near Old Coors after damage hit Daniel Zambrano’s memorial again where he died in a 2024 hit-and-run crash.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – An Albuquerque family wants changes near Old Coors after damage hit Daniel Zambrano’s memorial again where he died in a 2024 hit-and-run crash.
KOB 4 spoke with Zambrano’s family and the city about the stretch near Old Coors and Churchill. The family said speeding has been a concern there for years, but the city said the area is not a high priority for improvements.
For Nancy Akers, the memorial helps her keep Zambrano’s memory alive after he died in a hit-and-run crash on June 10, 2024. Akers said she often repairs the memorial after drivers damage it.
“I just want people to know speed is, does kill, you know, speed does kill,” Akers said.
“This is the pillar that was knocked down with his angels,” Akers said. “This one was knocked down twice. You could tell we rebuilt it twice with poles just so he could have it.”
What do the numbers show?
Akers grew up in the area and said she and Zambrano lived just blocks away. She said speeding and street racing have been a problem there for years.
“It’s always been a, it’s always been a concern,” Akers said. “There’s always speeding and racing at night also. You could even see the streets and there’s marks all the way from this end to that end.”
According to Albuquerque Police Department (APD), the area had one crash without injuries and three traffic stops in 2025.
So far this year, APD reported two crashes with injuries, one crash without injury and 27 traffic stops in the area.
But city leaders said those numbers still do not move that part of Old Coors near the top of Albuquerque’s Vision Zero priority list.
“When it comes to Vision Zero, we look at roads and we look at a tiered system, a data-driven approach,” Dan Mayfield said. “And Old Coors in that area doesn’t show up as a neighborhood where there are dangerous crashes.”
The city said Vision Zero focuses on roads with a high number of serious-injury and deadly crashes.
“It’s a pretty safe road when it comes to crashes with injuries,” Akers said. “I mean, there has been, and maybe in the grand scheme of things, there’s not as many accidents there as there are in other places.”
The city said people who believe crashes are happening more often in their neighborhood should report concerns through 311 so those issues can be tracked and reviewed.
