Drunk driver tells police he hit weed pen before fatal accident
An 18-year-old accused of driving 85 mph after apparently drinking alcohol was arrested following an I-40 rollover crash that killed an 11-year-old.
Digital Assignment Editor
An 18-year-old driver who was arrested early Saturday morning following a two-vehicle rollover crash that killed an 11-year-old said he’d drunk beer and hit a cannabis wax pen before the accident, court documents show.
Malachi Velasquez-McCormick said he was traveling at 85 miles per hour eastbound on I-40 near Unser Boulevard when the accident between his car and a Chevrolet SUV occurred.
Both cars rolled over, and an 11-year-old passenger in the Chevrolet SUV was killed.
Officers also found multiple open containers of alcohol in the Velasquez-McCormick’s gray Dodge passenger car.
New Mexico State Police said Velasquez-McCormick and his three passengers, along with three passengers from the Chevrolet, were transported to an area hospital.
The extent of their injuries is unknown.
Following his release from the hospital, Velasquez-McCormick was arrested and booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque on homicide by vehicle (DWI), aggravated DWI (bodily injury), reckless driving and open container charges.
