El Paso woman accused in fatal drunk driving crash laughs, apologizes and vomits at scene

An El Paso woman laughed and later said, "sorry" to police as she fell and vomited at the scene of a fatal drunk driving crash, court documents state.

Nadean Lily Lopez, 22, is facing one count of intoxicated manslaughter in connection with the death of a 50-year-old man during a Northeast El Paso car crash, El Paso Police Department officials said.

Lopez crashed into the back of a vehicle driven by John Cryan, 50, about 12:37 a.m. Feb. 11 at Dyer Street and Tetons Drive, officials said. Cryan died at the scene of the crash.

She remains jailed at the El Paso County Jail on a $205,000 bond as of Friday, Feb. 16, jail logs show.

Lopez repeatedly says sorry to officers, falls on the ground

Lopez was driving a 2018 Ford Focus in the 8500 block of Dyer Street when she rear-ended a 1988 Nissan Maxima driven by Cryan, officials said. The collision caused the Nissan to hit a 2021 Honda CRV. The driver of the Honda was not injured.

Officers arrived at the crash and began questioning Lopez.

Lopez told officers she left Pockets Billiards, Wings & Beer bar on Dyer Street and was driving home when the crash happened, a complaint affidavit states. She said she was either in the middle lane or the right lane during the collision.

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An officer told Lopez she smelled of alcohol to which she replied, "sorry." As she was being questioned, Lopez was "apologetic saying 'sorry' multiple times," the affidavit states.

Lopez was stumbling, so officers asked her to sit down. As she attempted to sit down, she fell onto the ground, the affidavit states.

Officers also saw Lopez vomit outside of a police vehicle. She was taken to the El Paso Police Department's Northeast Regional Command Center for questioning and a field sobriety test "due to cold weather and moderate winds," the affidavit states.

Lopez laughs at witness

An officer questioned a witness at the scene of the crash.

The witness said she and her sister were driving on Dyer Street when Lopez passed them at a high rate of speed, the affidavit states. Lopez was allegedly swerving in and out of multiple lanes.

The Nissan was stopped at a red light when Lopez crashed into it causing it to go to the right and Lopez's Ford togo to the left, and possibly hitting another vehicle, the witness said.

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The officer asked the witness who was driving each car. The witness said a man was in the white Nissan. She also said Lopez appeared to be in the Ford by herself and she saw her get out of the driver's seat, the affidavit states.

Lopez "did not appear to be aware" of what was happening, the witness said as she described Lopez as being "possibly under the influence," the affidavit states.

Lopez was laughing as emergency medical crews sat her down to evaluate her, the witness told police. The witness then went up to Lopez and told her "look at what (you) did," the affidavit states. Lopez continued laughing.

Driving at double legal limit

At the Northeast Regional Command Center, Lopez continued throwing up in a trash can that was on her lap. An officer read Lopez her Miranda Rights and she agreed to continue talking to the officer.

The officer asked her what happened. She replied, "l was at Dyer" and "l was on my way home," the affidavit states. The officer asked where she was coming from and she said, "Dyer." The officer asked where on Dyer and she replied "Umm, umm, the bar, umm, Pockets," the affidavit states.

She was asked if she been drinking alcohol and she said "yeah." The officer asked how much she had to drink. Lopez said she had three Tecate Lights.

The officer asked if she remembered what happened to which she replied, "Yeah, we crashed and then we were waiting," the affidavit states.

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The officer claimed Lopez had "glossy, bloodshot eyes and the odor of an unknown alcoholic beverage emanatingfrom (her) breath and person," the affidavit states.

Lopez agreed to do a field sobriety test, which she failed, the affidavit states.

She was arrested on suspicion of intoxicated manslaughter charge.

Lopez agreed to take a breathalyzer test. She allegedly blew a 0.166 and a 0.169, the affidavit states. The legal blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) limit is 0.08.

Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Affidavit: Woman arrested in fatal crash laughs and vomits at scene