A Cortez woman faces a homicide charge after a crash Tuesday afternoon that killed a motorcyclist at East Main Street and Hawkins Street, according to an arrest affidavit.
Police said they arrested Shandine H. John, 33, after the collision.
Officers responded about 4 p.m. after several 911 calls reported a crash involving a pickup truck and a motorcyclist. Police found a badly injured man lying on the ground. A nurse practitioner and a flight nurse performed CPR and other lifesaving efforts until first responders arrived, according to the affidavit filed in Montezuma County Combined Courts.
Moments before the crash, dispatch had received a REDDI report, which stands for Report Every Drunk Driver Immediately. The caller reported women appeared intoxicated while ordering food at the Dairy Queen on East Main Street before driving east in a black Dodge Ram 1500.
Officers reported significant damage to both the pickup and the motorcycle, which was found on its side near the truck.
According to the affidavit, John gave conflicting statements about driving before later telling officers, “It was me.” She also told police she had consumed “three, no, four beers” about an hour before the crash.
“At this time, based on my observations of Shandine and the statements made to me during my initial interview, I placed Shandine under arrest,” officer Jacob Bourdon, the first on the scene, wrote in the affidavit.
Witnesses at the crash scene gave mixed accounts about who was driving.
One bystander reported seeing John in the driver’s seat. Three unidentified witnesses told police they were unsure who had been driving but reported seeing a male leave the truck with a blond woman after the crash. Witnesses said a blond female allegedly told them, “I wasn’t even driving so I am leaving.”
Investigators later determined there was no male in the truck, a conclusion John later affirmed to police.
Investigators also determined the female passenger, whose identity remains unknown, left the scene before officers arrived, according to the affidavit. A new witness later told detectives he was a Destination Grill worker who heard the crash and immediately went to provide assistance. He later identified John as the driver of the truck.
At the Cortez Police Department, a breath test administered about 5 p.m. showed John’s blood alcohol content was 0.285, according to the affidavit.
John was later transported to Southwest Memorial Hospital for a blood draw before being booked into the Montezuma County Detention Center and left in the care of jail staff.
She is charged with vehicular homicide and misdemeanor counts of DUI, careless driving causing death, driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08% or more and driving while license revoked under express consent.
Bond was set at $200,000 cash or surety. Her next court appearance is scheduled for April 7 at 9:30 a.m.
Court records show John is also facing a prior DUI charge stemming from a March 23, 2025, arrest by the same officer.
awatson@the-journal.com
