Carlsbad man charged with homicide by vehicle out on bail while awaiting trial
A Carlsbad man arrested for homicide by vehicle was out on bail on multiple charges associated with a drunk driving incident where the man allegedly backed into a motorcycle on National Parks Highway, killing the bike’s driver.
Alex Santana, 30, was arrested May 14 after police said he drove drunk and caused the crash that killed Alan Ortiz who was driving along the highway on his motorcycle.
Santana was charged with homicide by vehicle − driving while intoxicated − along with having an open container of alcohol, driving without a license, insurance or evidence of registration and failing to yield to the right of way.
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He had yet to enter a plea on any of the charges as of Thursday.
Homicide by vehicle, DWI, is a class two felony, carrying a potential sentence of up to 15 years in prison when involving someone’s death, according to the New Mexico Sentencing Commission.
The rest of Santana’s charges were misdemeanors.
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Santana was released from incarceration on a $2,500 bond, records show, the day after his arrest.
He was required to not possess firearms or weapons, consume alcohol or drugs, or leave Eddy County without permission from the court.
He was not required to have an interlock device installed on any vehicle Santana might drive.
Records show the court deemed him a flight risk due to an expired Mexico driver’s license police said Santana provided at the scene of the crash.
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Police were called to the scene at about 9:20 p.m. May 14 in the 3500 block of National Parks Highway near the El Rey Motel for a crash report, finding Ortiz lying in the roadway.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, read a criminal complaint, after being found “missing half of his head.”
Santana was allegedly backing a BMW out into the roadway while Ortiz was traveling south on his motorcycle when he collided with the car, read the complaint.
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Witnesses at the scene said the motorcycle was traveling “at least 100 miles per hour,” the complaint read.
Other motorists that witnessed the crash said Ortiz tried to pass them, crashing into the BMW as it backed into the road.
A group of motorcycles were observed ahead of the incident, read the complaint. Ortiz was believed part of that group, and was last in line, witnesses said.
Santana was approached by officers on scene and was observed to smell of alcohol, showing an expired license from Chihuahua, Mexico to investigators when asked, the complaint read.
He refused to talk about the incident to police when asked, records show, later submitting to a blood test at Carlsbad Medical Center.
Santana made his first appearance May 15 in Carlsbad Magistrate Court before Judge Kelly Calicoat and had a preliminary examination scheduled for June 13.
Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Carlsbad man charged with homicide by vehicle out on bail
