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SANTA FE — Two Las Vegas, N.M.-area girls are dead and a 17-year-old has been charged with vehicular homicide in the wake of a suspected drunken driving rollover on Interstate 25 early Saturday.
Alcohol, reckless driving and speed were all factors in the crash, according to New Mexico State Police. The driver, Wayne Lovato, also of Las Vegas, has been hospitalized but will be taken into custody as soon as he is discharged, according to a State Police statement issued Saturday.
Kayla Martinez, 14, of Las Vegas and Aleandra Sanchez, 12, of Villanueva were confirmed dead at the scene of the 2:19 a.m. crash at milepost 337, near Tecolote, police said.
Rubio Reyes, 21, of Las Vegas, is in critical condition at a Santa Fe hospital, and Briana Sanchez, 13, also of Las Vegas, has been hospitalized in serious but stable condition in Albuquerque.
Three others were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries: Kayla Esquibel, 17; Alexandria DeLao, 22; and Joseph Martinez, 21, all of Las Vegas.
Police said the silver Infiniti sedan in which the eight were riding flipped on the median, landing upside down, and everyone was ejected.
When police arrived, Lovato was not on the scene. He was later located at a Las Vegas hospital, where he is being treated for injuries. Police said he had been taken to the hospital by a relative.
Based on their investigation, police believe Lovato was driving drunk when the wreck occurred.
Lovato has been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and two counts of great bodily harm by vehicle, all felonies. He also faces misdemeanor charges of DWI, reckless driving and failure to render aid, police said.
— This article appeared on page B1 of the Albuquerque Journal
