New Mexico woman pleads guilty in Las Animas County fatal crash case

The Las Animas County Courthouse became the center of accountability in Trinidad on April 29 when Inka Marie Jumisko, 29, of New Mexico, pleaded guilty in the fatal Interstate 25 crash case that killed a juvenile passenger south of town.

Her plea was entered to an amended charge of vehicular homicide, DWAI, a class 4 felony. That resolved the question of guilt and removed the prospect of a trial, but it did not end the case. Sentencing still has to be determined, and that next step will decide the legal consequences Jumisko faces for the crash.

The amended charge matters. Under Colorado law, vehicular homicide by DWAI is treated as a class 4 felony, while vehicular homicide tied to DUI is handled more severely as a class 3 felony. DWAI means driving while ability impaired, a lower legal threshold than DUI, and the plea put the case into that narrower category.

The crash itself happened just after midnight on May 13, 2025, on southbound Interstate 25 near milepost 12 south of Trinidad. Trinidad Police Department arrested Jumisko after responding to the rollover crash. A juvenile passenger was pronounced dead at the scene, making the case one that has carried deep weight for families, court watchers and anyone who travels the county’s main highway corridor.

The case also moved through a significant procedural moment earlier this spring. Jumisko failed to appear for a scheduled April 1 review hearing, and a bench warrant was issued. Her April 29 appearance in Trinidad ended that uncertainty and brought the case back into open court, where the focus shifted from whether she would answer the charge to what sentence the court will impose.

For Las Animas County, the plea closes one chapter but opens another. The crash was not only a courtroom matter; it was a fatal wreck on I-25, the route that carries commuters, freight and emergency responders through southern Colorado. Now the courthouse process turns to punishment, and the final outcome will determine how this year-long case is remembered in Trinidad and beyond.