A Farmington woman accused of causing a motor vehicle crash that killed a woman was in court Monday for a status conference.
Graciela Vasquez, 53, is being held in the San Juan County Detention Center on a second-degree felony charge of homicide by vehicle caused by DWI.
She is accused of killing Raelena Neal in a Feb. 1 crash near the intersection of County Road 5190 and County Road 5500 in West Hammond.
Defense Attorney Ariel White reported to District Judge Curtis Gurley that she has not been able to do “a deep dive” into the case.
“I’m missing the OMI (office of medical investigator) report,” White said.
The report from the Office of the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque would provide Neal’s official cause of death.
“We are missing the OMI report as well,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Decker said, adding it is taking the medical investigator six to eight months to complete reports.
“I’m a little concerned about how long it will take to get an OMI report,” White said.
“This will be a complicated case for analysis purposes,” Judge Gurley said.
The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case and interviewed a witness who said he saw a yellow Jeep Wrangler, reportedly driven by Vasquez, as it “jumped backward across the road” and went down a hill on the south side of the roadway.
The Jeep sustained heavy damage, and Neal who was in the passenger seat was flown to UNM Hospital in Albuquerque for treatment for her injuries. She died there, according to court records.
Vasquez also was treated for injuries at San Juan Regional Medical Center.
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.
Vasquez, who was serving probation for an aggravated battery charge when the accident happened, reportedly admitted she drank “half the Importers Vodka” before driving that day, 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.
Gurley set another status conference in the case for 9 a.m. Sept. 8 in his courtroom in Aztec.