4 Investigates: The dangerous road to the Metropolitan Detention Center

4 Investigates: Road to MDC

Most of us would agree, you can't predict a car accident. But if the same type of crash keeps happening in the same area, should that signal a problem?

Most of us would agree, you can’t predict a car accident. But if the same type of crash keeps happening in the same area, should that signal a problem?

The death of 19-year-old corrections officer Raquel Sachs in late October is raising renewed questions about the dangerous set of roads leading to our Metropolitan Detention Center.

There is not much to see. The daytime drive to Bernalillo County’s jail is a straight shot. But when the sun goes down, Shelly Road SW and U.S. Frontage Road, are more like the Wild West.

“It’s really scary,” said Andrea Garcia, a former MDC staffer. “Everyone thinks it’s really scary, the cops, the ambulances, the sheriffs.”

It is dark, deserted, and dangerous. Where horses and cattle have the right-of-way.

BC: What is it like at night driving on that road?”

Johann Jareno, BCSO Undersheriff: “Dark and its almost a gamble…”

Law enforcement and jail staffers often have a losing hand.

“For the county to know, they know this happens and not do anything is criminal to me,” said Garcia.

Raquel Sachs never had life-long dreams of becoming a corrections officer. So, at 19 years old, she surprised everyone when she graduated from the Metropolitan Detention Center Academy.

“She was the shortest one there, but she popped,” said Manuel Juan Deleon, Sachs’ brother.

At five foot nothing, the idea of Sachs taking on suspected criminals didn’t sit easy with her siblings at first. But they were proud.

“We always had that fear something would happen,” said Alexsandria Deleon, Raquel’s sister. “She would say ‘I got it, you should see how I take down.’ She would put her in handcuffs. She would try to wrestle him. Just to show us what she was capable of.”

Sachs was on the job a little more than a month, working the graveyard shift.

We pulled her time card which shows four of her last six days at MDC were 16-hour doubles, giving her less than eight hours before she needed to show up for her next shift. She was heading in for another shift when her family got the call.

Deputies said she was driving on Shelly Road, almost to work, when she swerved for some “unknown” reason, according to a BCSO traffic accident report.

Her car flipped. Trapped underneath, she died.

“We walked the road just trying to find anything of hers, and we found a lot of stuff,” said Alexsandria Deleon.

Including more questions.

“We’re seeing cross after cross after cross. Then we get to this site and this possible could have been would have been prevented,” said Angelica Deleon, Raquel’s sister. “If someone would have listened before or done something.”

They discovered crosses for another 19-year-old corrections officer, for two men hit and killed by a corrections officer.

Raquel was the fifth person to die driving on this stretch toward MDC in two years.
We found more than 60 accident calls in the last three years.

But one of those crashes stood out. Just nine months before Sachs died, Bernalillo County Sheriff’s deputies were driving a suspect to MDC in March last year when the deputy hit a cow in the road.

They pulled off, using a flashlight to alert drivers that the cow they hit was still in the road. One APD officer goes around it, but less than five minutes later another APD officer slams into the same cow.

The damage was extensive.

BCSO Undersheriff Johann Jareno said the problems on those roads are well documented. Many of the incidents involve BCSO deputies, APD, Prison Transport Vans and State Police Vehicles and MDC workers driving to or from work.

 “This road ain’t no joke with these cows, man. They really need to do something about making them keep their cows in their yard before somebody dies.”

Shelly Road is lined with barbed wire fence, but it hardly does the job of keeping cattle out of the road. We found a number of spots where the fence is so damaged it’s not doing much of anything.

“No one is shocked. No one is like ‘Oh my God, you hit a cow’ or ‘You killed someone?’ It is not shock, it’s just kind of like, oh, that sucks. Maybe they’ll put lights up now,” said Andrea Garcia. “Because it’s so dark out there. It’s so dark you can’t see very far in front of you.

Garcia was working graveyard at MDC in 2022 when she too crashed into something she didn’t see.

“It was my accident really, obviously I was really shaken up by it. I was like, this is ridiculous, because everyone has a story there,” she said.

Three years ago, she put together a petition. Garcia gathered hundreds of signatures. She emailed the mayor’s office, the governor, and the deputy Bernalillo County manager.

“For the county to know. they know this happens, and not do anything is criminal to me,” said Garcia.

The county may not own the cattle out that roams the area, but it is the county’s job to keep cattle out of anywhere they aren’t allowed to roam.

“I’ve been doing this for 17 years and it hasn’t changed. So how about we stop talking about it and we do something,” said Jareno.

The Frontage Road is owned by the state. A portion of Shelly Road is owned by the city of Albuquerque, the rest is owned by the county. But recently the county vowed to take on all of it.

“To these families, the county is very much concerned about driver’s safety,” said Jennifer Flor, the project engineer actively installing more than 100 lights on the NMDOT Frontage Road.

The county refused to say why it has taken so long to protect its own employees. While there are plans to install more than 150 streetlights, between the Frontage Road and Shelly Road, and upgrade fencing. It will take time and more money.

But Sachs’ family will tell you, every day that passes brings the risk that someone else’s bright future goes dark.

“Like her happy presence just disappeared. It’s like she’s not there anymore,” said Isaiah Martinez, Raquel’s nephew. “It’s like all of our joy and every happiness she brought to us is not there anymore.”

Life without Raquel is even harder, knowing what they know now.

“Our safety is not a priority,” said Angelica Deleon, Raquel’s sister.

Another big problem on that road is speed. The county is setting up mobile speed enforcement, while BCSO said it’s dedicating more resources for patrols.

TIMELINE FOR LIGHTING PROJECTS (Per Bernalillo County):

 2017- County installs lighting on its portion of Shelly Road.

2023- County takes coordination lead and applies for a state grant. 

2024 – City of ABQ Coordination 

2/24 City and county agreed to move forward with PNM (Public Service Company of New Mexico) proposal to install 64 streetlights. 

9/16/24 PNM provided a final $182,920 cost estimate to the city and the city sent the estimate to the county to confirm the cost and funding. 

11/24 County manager signs funding agreement 

12/24 The county is in the process of drafting an agreement with the city to move forward with PNM’s proposal to install 64 streetlights on the city’s section of Shelly Road. Agreement will be forwarded to city after the new year. 

2024 – New Mexico Department of Transportation Coordination 

1/2/24: County received executed TPF grant agreement from NMDOT permitting coordination efforts between county and state for installation of 103 solar lights on NMDOT Frontage Road. 

1/24 County began work with consultant to define scope of project and determine fee for service. 

2/05/24: Purchase order for project design was issued to consultant to allow work to begin. 

4/12/24: 30% of plans received. (layout and lighting analysis) 

7/24/2024: 60% of plans received. Coordination with utility owners and NMDOT is ongoing. Lighting pole and luminaire (light fixture) have been designed.

11/27/24 County received required environmental certification. 

Early 2025: Final plans due to county 

Spring 2025 county solicits bidders to do work. Board of County Commissioners approval required. Process takes approximately 3 months.

Summer 2025 installation of 103 lights on NMDOT frontage road