Drunken driver given four years in prison

Judge focuses on bad decision that led to death of driver’s best friend

A drunken driver convicted of crashing his car, killing his passenger, was sentenced to four years and 90 days in prison Thursday.

Anselmo Diaz, 22, had been arrested for driving while intoxicated just a month before the deadly wreck in August 2015, a point state District Judge Stan Whitaker focused on as he handed down the sentence.

Prosecutor Julie Gallardo said Diaz and two friends had been drinking at Sandia Casino when they were asked to leave after creating a disturbance. Gallardo said Diaz left the casino, ran two red lights and was traveling an estimated 100 mph in a 25 mph construction zone when he lost control of the car and crashed into a pole.

Whitaker said Diaz made “life altering choices” that night, and another young person was dead because of those choices.

“Could you have done a myriad of other things? Call a cab? Call a friend? Walk?” Whitaker asked. “Yeah, you could have done all of those things. But what you chose to do, forced out of the casino, was to get in the car and drive it.”

Andrew Rael, 23, who was riding in the front passenger seat, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Diaz’s attorney Gene Chavez said that Diaz was not in his right mind that night and that, if he had not been asked to leave the casino premises, “he would not have gotten into his car and driven off.”

Following the hearing, Chavez said his client feels guilty about the wreck and has taken responsibility for his actions.

“It’s just a tragedy all around,” Chavez said. “He lost his best friend; he made a mistake he has to live with for the rest of his life.”