A Farmington woman on probation for aggravated battery has been charged after investigators say she drove drunk without a license and caused a fatal crash.
Graciela Vasquez, 53, was booked April 13 into the San Juan County Detention Center on a second-degree felony charge of homicide by vehicle caused by DWI. She also faces charges of open container, driving without a license and no insurance.
The charges stem from a single-vehicle crash at 4 p.m. Feb. 1 near the intersection of County Road 5190 and County Road 5500 in West Hammond.
Vasquez was driving a yellow Jeep Wrangler that witnesses said “jumped backward across the road” and went down a hill on the south side of the roadway, according to the arrest affidavit.
The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office found the Jeep with heavy damage to the roof, the affidavit said.
Vasquez was in the driver’s seat and Raelena Neal was in the passenger seat. Both women were taken to San Juan Regional Medical Center.
Neal was later flown to UNM Hospital in Albuquerque, where she died, according to the affidavit.
Investigators found a half-full 24-ounce can of Twisted Tea outside the Jeep. A 375-milliliter bottle of Importers Vodka, about three-quarters full, was found on the floorboard “covered in blood,” the affidavit said.
When questioned, Vasquez allegedly admitted she and Neal had been drinking that day and said she drank “half the Importers Vodka,” according to the affidavit.
An analysis of a blood draw showed Vasquez’s blood alcohol content two hours after the crash was 0.14, nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08, according to the affidavit.
The San Juan County District Attorney’s Office filed a motion seeking pretrial detention, requesting that Vasquez remain in custody pending trial.
The motion, filed April 14, outlines a lengthy criminal history that includes three DWI charges in Arizona, as well as burglary, theft and assault cases in that state.
Vasquez has a 2024 conviction in San Juan County for aggravated battery and concealing identity and is serving 233 days of probation, according to court records.
“The State believes no viable conditions of release exist to ensure the safety of the community at this time,” the motion stated.
A detention and preliminary hearing is scheduled for 3 p.m. April 27 in District Judge Curtis Gurley’s courtroom in Aztec.
