A 6-year-old boy died and two other children were injured after their mother was allegedly driving drunk and crashed their car on Saturday, according to police.
New Mexico State Police said in a news release that Candace Jim was driving around noon on County Road 7150 in Bloomfield, located about 160 miles northeast of Albuquerque, when she crossed over the center line into oncoming traffic, over-corrected, and rolled over.
Three children riding in the backseat — 6-year-old twins and a 9-year-old girl — were all thrown from the vehicle.
The twin boy died at the scene, while his twin sister is listed in critical condition, according to state police. The 9-year-old girl was injured in the crash but is expected to survive.
Jim is charged with multiple counts of child abuse, open container and reckless driving, according to police. State police said the incident on Saturday was her fourth DWI.
Court records obtained by KRQE show only one previous DWI conviction for Jim in New Mexico, but her mother told the television station that her daughter used to live in Utah and faced DWI charges there.
“We just don’t know what to do, what to say. We are just emotionally drained,” Cynthia Tsosie told KRQE.
Tsosie said her daughter has been struggling with depression and alcoholism after her husband died late last year. Tsosie told KRQE that after Jim’s husband died, her daughter began dating another man who was in the vehicle on Saturday — Aaron Yazzie.
“We told her he’s not a good person, he drinks a lot. I kept telling her that,” Tsosie said.
State police have charged Yazzie with child abuse resulting in death and two counts of abuse of a child resulting in great bodily harm.
Authorities have not yet released the names of the children for privacy of the family, and said the deadly crash remains under investigation.