Taos, NM : Arroyo Hondo motorcycle crash victim dies on Thursday, August 3, 2017

Jorden Medina, a 57-year-old Taos resident who crashed while riding his motorcycle through Arroyo Hondo last week, has died.

The New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator confirmed with state police that Medina passed away late Thursday (Aug. 3), though cause of death is unknown at this time.

Medina had been riding his motorcycle along State Road 522 through Arroyo Hondo on Tuesday (July 25), when he crashed near mile marker 2.

Taos Emergency Medical Services Director Joaquin Gonzales said Medina was not wearing a helmet.

"The victim sustained massive head and chest injuries ..." Gonzales said last week following the accident.

Medics rushed the patient to Taos Regional Airport, where a life-flight helicopter then transported him to a trauma center for further treatment.

The crash was initially reported as a hit-and-run, with dispatchers disseminating an alert for a damaged red or gray pickup truck driven by a female who was seen leaving the area. The report has since been revised, according to Lt. Edwardo Martinez, commander of the New Mexico State Police Taos district. "We're investigating it as a single-vehicle motorcycle accident," he said. "Initially, there was another vehicle seen leaving the area, but we are now treating that driver as another witness."

When asked what might have caused the motorcyclist to crash, Martinez was unsure. "That's a pretty straight road," he said. "We're still trying to figure out what happened."

State police are continuing to investigate the cause of the accident.

Authorities have confirmed Medina to be the same man who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2013 following the shooting death of Nicholas Concha, of Taos Pueblo, outside the north Allsup's gas station in Taos.

Following the shooting, Medina informed his wife he may have killed someone and turned himself in to New Mexico State Police. He was initially charged with second-degree murder. Concha's membership with Taos Pueblo placed the case under federal jurisdiction, and Medina was prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Damon Martínez.

Medina's defense counsel argued their client had acted in self-defense during the shooting. Medina pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter and spent one year in prison before his release.


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Arroyo Hondo motorcycle crash victim dies