Truck hits, kills man near campus

nicole11@unm.edu

A male pedestrian was hit and killed by a pickup truck near campus last week.

Albuquerque Police Department Public Information Officer Tasia Martinez said William Nolan was hit by a silver Dodge Ram 1500 at the intersection of Silver Avenue and Princeton Drive on July 3. She said Nolan was walking on the Silver Avenue sidewalk when the driver, Stephen Whitaker, 42, jumped the curb in his truck and straddled the fence at a corner house, hitting Nolan in the process.

Martinez said Nolan sustained serious injuries and was rushed to UNMH, where he later died.

Witnesses said Whitaker was driving erratically prior to the incident. Police are investigating whether the incident was a result of Whitaker’s suffering a medical episode while he was driving.

UNM officials and APD couldn’t confirm whether Nolan was a UNM student, and his friends and family were not available for comment.

Nolan was a member of the local band Entry Lights, and according to his bandmates he played the melodica, banjo, dobro guitar, bass, drums and mandolin, and built every instrument he played.

“Will, however, was a fiercely independent human being, a good friend, and simply just a great guy, who rarely complained about his lot in life, or how hard he had to struggle to make a living on his own,” a band member posted on the band’s Facebook page. “A truly noble person, always willing to work hard, and dig deep.”
Band member James Bigglesworth wrote on Facebook that Nolan was a good friend and a sincere individual whom he will miss.

“We had quite a few good talks about God and life and music and women over a smoke and the last words we said to each other were ‘I love you man’ after we hugged,” Bigglesworth wrote. “He never tossed the word ‘love’ around, he literally meant it every time it came out of his mouth. … His music and personality makes him infinite and we won’t ever see him any other way.”