CRIME
Suspected drunken driver accused of crashing into car on I-40, killing 11-year-old girl
Police: Witnesses and passengers inside the car said the driver was ‘at fault’
An 11-year-old girl was killed after being in a vehicle that was struck by a suspected drunken driver on Interstate 40 on Friday night.
Malachi Velasquez-McCormick, 18, of Albuquerque, is charged with vehicular homicide, driving while under the influence, aggravated driving while under the influence, reckless driving and having an open container.
Velasquez-McCormick is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center.
At approximately 9:54 p.m. Friday, New Mexico State Police responded to a call about a two-vehicle crash on eastbound I-40 near the Unser Boulevard exit.
When officers arrived, Albuquerque police officers told them that a person was killed and multiple people were injured, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.
New Mexico State Police spokesperson Sgt. Ricardo Breceda said in an email that the person killed was an 11-year-old girl.
Witnesses and passengers inside a gray Dodge sedan driven by Velasquez-McCormick told police he was speeding and was “at fault for the vehicle crash,” police said.
In a news release, Breceda said officers learned that Velasquez-McCormick was speeding when he moved to the right lane to pass a semi-trailer. As Velasquez-McCormick attempted to go back to the left lane, the car struck the rear passenger side of a Chevrolet SUV, causing both vehicles to roll over, the release states.
Velasquez-McCormick and three people from the Chevrolet were taken to a local hospital. The extend of their injuries are unknown, Breceda said.
According to the criminal complaint, APD officers said they found multiple alcoholic containers in the car.
Later, at University of New Mexico Hospital, Velasquez-McCormick told New Mexico State Police he was the driver of the car and “he was scared,” officers said. As he was talking, police said they smelled alcohol on his breath and that his eyes were bloodshot and watery, according to the complaint.
Police said Velasquez-McCormick told them he was heading eastbound on I-40 going about 85 mph with three people in the car at the time of the incident. He told police he had a Modelo four hours earlier, then “consumed a hit from a wax marijuana pen” about two hours before driving, the complaint states.
While administering field sobriety tests, police said they “observed multiple clues of impairment.”
Gregory R.C. Hasman is a general assignment reporter and the Road Warrior. He can be reached at ghasman@abqjournal.com or 505-823-3820.