BERNALILLO, N.M.  — A local family says they don’t want their loved one to be forgotten as they approach two months without Isaac Herrera.

On Nov. 29, Isaac Herrera and his sister, Libby Garcia, were walking down Avenida Bernalillo when the driver of a suspected Red Dodge 1500 slammed into Isaac, sending him flying into a nearby ditch. It was his 15th birthday. 

“It’s been hard. I’m taking it hard. I raised him and I loved him,” said Roberta Ann Gallegos. “He didn’t even have an hour of his birthday when he got killed.” 

Nearly two months later, the family is no closer to justice. 

“It’s hard enough that, you know, he was taken from us so soon but for somebody to not be paying for it is also what’s devastating,” Renee Gallegos said. 

Renee and Roberta Ann Gallegos are frustrated. They feel more should’ve been done in the early stages of the investigation. 

“When this happened, there was no detective that showed up on the scene,” Renee Gallegos continued, “I feel that if I wouldn’t have called the news myself and taking it into my own hands, it still wouldn’t have been reported.” 

Bernalillo Mayor Jack Torres says there are a couple of reasons for the lack of information. The first being they don’t want to compromise the investigation underway. 

“What’s always a challenge with any sort of investigation is we don’t want to do anything that would interfere with that being successful. So sometimes people are frustrated that they’re not getting information, and it’s not that we don’t want to provide it,” Mayor Torres said. 

Another reason is limited resources.

“We’re not alone in feeling that more resources from the Legislature, from the governor’s office, would go a long way to helping every single community,” Torres continued. “There’s nothing we want more than to complete the investigation, bring justice to whoever the responsible party or parties are, and we’ll keep working until we get there.” 

The stretch of road where Isaac was hit also doesn’t have many lights. KOB 4 asked Mayor Torres if there were plans to fix that.

He says they’re aware of the lack of lighting in the area but explained every project they do typically has to be broken up into phases because of funding. The next project is on the south end of Camino Del Pueblo, or New Mexico 313. Construction on that is expected later this year.  

“There’s a lot of parts of town, unfortunately, that are too dark, and certainly this is one that we’ve looked at as a possibility for our next phase. Our next lighting project we call Phase Five, and this may be the next one, but until we do a close analysis with staff and contract engineers, I can’t tell you if that’ll be the very next one or not,” Torres said.

Renee Gallegos says hearing they know the lighting is an issue in the area is upsetting. 

“There shouldn’t be no talk. I mean, no thinking about nothing. This is a street, and any other street where people walk should have lights and sidewalks period, you know? If they would have thought of it, and it would have been done, then Isaac would be here today,” Gallegos said.

The family explained, things are tough as they not only balance grieving Isaac’s sudden loss and the frustration that comes with losing someone too soon but also understanding Bernalillo police are doing what they can. 

“We do feel grateful that they’re picking up the ball now and things are starting to roll, and you know that they’re starting to take the case very serious, because before we felt like they weren’t,” Renee Gallegos said. 

Police released new surveillance video of the suspect’s car. They believe they were driving a red 2019 to 2025 newer model Dodge Ram 1500. If the car hasn’t been fixed, it would have heavy damage to the front grill, passenger headlamp, hood and passenger side.

If you see this car or know who could have been driving it, call the Crime Stoppers at (505)-843-STOP or submit a tip to here or text “ABQCS” to 738477. You could be awarded up to $2,500 for information that leads to an arrest.