Road to zero

Ending acceptance of traffic fatalities

The remains of the guardrail, surrounded by associated vehicle debris, at “Twin Tanks” on NM 502 just east of Los Alamos.

Story by Stephanie Nakhleh
Photos by Minesh Bacrania

How many traffic fatalities are acceptable in Los Alamos? Two deaths in seven months — including the recent loss of Dr. Charles McMillan, former director of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), in a two-vehicle collision — have reignited concerns about traffic safety and the apparent lack of effective measures to prevent such tragedies.

Two families shattered

Drs. Philip Leonard, 44, and Charlie McMillan, 69, were more than just casualties of Los Alamos traffic. They were fathers, husbands, and distinguished scientists whose lives were cut short in separate crashes. Leonard, an organic chemist at LANL, had a toddler son and was expecting a daughter with his wife Jamie when he died on Feb. 27. His family remembers him as “the single most honorable, honest, generous, and trustworthy man anyone could ask for.”