Arieanna Crowson, Reporter
GRANTS, NM – On October 13, a grand jury handed down an indictment in the State of New Mexico vs. David Belasquez-Gomez case. The indictment follows an accident that allegedly occurred on August 17, that Belasquez- Gomez was involved in and resulted in one fatality. Currently there is no court date set.
On Thursday, August 17 at around 10:15 p.m., two vehicles were involved in an accident on Interstate 40 westbound near mile marker 86. According to a police report, obtained after waiting 15 days for an Inspection of Public Records Act request to be returned by the New Mexico State Police, the accident was a head-on collision that occurred after Belasquez-Gomez’s vehicle, which was heading eastbound, crossed the median and struck an oncoming vehicle that was heading westbound in the left lane head-on.
45-year-old Sharia Jones, who was driving the vehicle struck by Belasquez-Gomez, sustained fatal injuries in the accident. Jones’s two children were also in the vehicle during the accident and both sustained injuries.
During the investigation, officers noted that the roadway was wet, as it had been raining before the crash occurred, but the weather did not appear to be a factor in the crash, as the weather was clear at the time of the crash, according to the report. Officers on the scene had said that they did not observe any signs of impairment from Belasquez- Gomes and they did not see any evidence of alcohol consumption in the vehicle. However, it was later stated in the report that Belasquez-Gomez admitted to consuming two bottles of Victoria brand beer about five hours before driving.
Following this statement from Belasquez-Gomez, NMSP officers obtained a search warrant for a blood withdrawal from Belasquez-Gomez to determine if he was under the influence during the crash. Officers performed two blood withdraws, one occurring at 2:07 a.m. and the other occurring at 2:47 a.m. Officers received the toxicological results from both blood kits on September 14. The toxicological results showed that Belasquez-Gomez had ethanol present in his blood at the time of the blood withdrawal. The ethanol level was listed as 0.10g/100ml which is above the per se limit of 0.08. In the criminal complaint filed by NMSP officers, it states “It is apparent that Mr. Belasquez-Gomez was under the influence of alcoholic beverages at the time of this crash, and it was a contributing factor to the crash. The crash resulted in Mrs. Jones losing her life due to major injuries she sustained during the crash as well as JJ sustaining major injuries during the crash and SJ experiencing moderate injuries.”
In the indictment, Belasquez-Gomez is charged with four counts: Count 1: Homicide by Vehicle (Driving While Under the Influence of Intoxicating Liquor or Any Drug) or in the alternative: Homicide by Vehicle (Reckless Driving).
Count 2: Great Bodily Harm by Vehicle (Driving While Under the Influence of Intoxicating Liquor or Any Drug) or in the alternative: Great Bodily Injury by Vehicle (Reckless Driving).
Count 3: Great Bodily Harm by Vehicle (Driving While Under the Influence of Intoxicating Liquor or Any Drug) or in the alternative: Great Bodily Harm Injury by Vehicle (Reckless Driving).
Count 4: Aggravated Driving While Under the Influence of Intoxicating Liquor or Any Drug (Bodily Injury).