Farmington woman charged in deadly West Hammond DWI crash

A Farmington woman is facing a second-degree felony after investigators say a drunk-driving crash in West Hammond killed her passenger and left a yellow Jeep Wrangler mangled off the road near County Road 5190 and County Road 5500.

Graciela Vasquez, 53, was booked April 13 into the San Juan County Detention Center after the San Juan County District Attorney’s Office filed a homicide-by-vehicle-caused-by-DWI case tied to the February 1 wreck. Investigators say the crash happened around 4 p.m. when witnesses saw the Jeep suddenly move backward across the road and then go down a hill on the south side of the roadway. Deputies found the vehicle heavily damaged, with its roof crushed.

Vasquez and her passenger, Raelena Neal, were taken to San Juan Regional Medical Center. Neal was later flown to UNM Hospital in Albuquerque, where she died. Investigators also reported finding an almost half-full 24-ounce Twisted Tea can outside the Jeep and a vodka bottle on the floorboard that was still partly full and covered in blood. In an affidavit, Vasquez admitted that she and Neal had been drinking that day and said she had consumed part of the vodka.

A blood draw taken about two hours after the crash reportedly showed a blood alcohol content of 0.14, nearly twice the legal limit. Under New Mexico law, homicide by vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs is a second-degree felony, which is why prosecutors are treating the case as a serious violent offense rather than a routine traffic matter.

The filing also says Vasquez faces open-container, driving-without-a-license and no-insurance charges. Prosecutors say she was already on probation for a 2024 aggravated battery conviction in San Juan County, and their detention motion says she has a long criminal history in Arizona that includes DWI, burglary, theft and assault cases. The district attorney’s office is asking a judge to keep her jailed while the case moves forward, arguing there are no conditions that would adequately protect the community.

The next court step is set for April 27, when a detention and preliminary hearing will be held before District Judge Curtis Gurley in Aztec. That hearing will help determine whether the evidence and Vasquez’s record are enough to keep her in custody before trial.

The case also fits a broader local pattern of fatal DWI enforcement in San Juan County. In another recent case, prosecutors sought detention after an alleged drunk driver was accused of killing two bicyclists, underscoring how aggressively local officials are pursuing major impaired-driving deaths.