Suit: Pursuit by deputy improper

Crash killed 2 after pursuit called off

Trial began Monday in a wrongful death lawsuit alleging that a sheriff’s deputy improperly pursued a drunken driver in the moments before he slammed into a family’s vehicle, killing two.

The drunken driver, Steven Trujillo, pleaded no contest to charges including two counts of vehicular homicide and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. The July 2015 crash in the South Valley left Mary Soto, 30 and Elijah Sandoval, 13, dead and six others injured.

According to the lawsuit filed in state District Court, minutes before the deadly wreck, dispatchers told deputies to be on the lookout for a truck involved in a hit-and-run crash. Deputy Judy Galloway saw the truck traveling on South Valley streets and followed it for a short time. She attempted to stop the truck when she saw it fail to stop at a stop sign.

When she turned on her lights, Trujillo fled, according to attorneys in the case. Galloway pursued the vehicle for less than a minute, according to her attorney. She stopped the pursuit when she learned that the driver was only wanted for misdemeanor offenses.

But within seconds, the truck sped through an intersection, slamming into an SUV carrying nine people.

Attorneys for the victims in the crash said in opening statements Monday that Galloway was insufficiently trained for such a situation and never should have pursued Trujillo’s truck. They argued that, among other things, the Law Enforcement Safe Pursuit Act prohibits officers from chasing vehicles over misdemeanor charges.

Attorney Kimberly Brusuelas said it doesn’t matter if the pursuit only lasts a few seconds.

“We know on the roadway seconds matter,” she said. “All it takes is a second.”

Luis Robles, attorney for defendants Bernalillo County and Galloway, argued that deputies had been told the truck driver fled the scene of a crash and had been involved in a flight, both of which can merit either misdemeanor or felony charges.

When Galloway’s sergeant learned the charges were misdemeanors, she called off the pursuit and Galloway stopped pursuing.

“But within two seconds, that’s when Mr. Trujillo runs a red light and crashes into the Lujan-Soto family,” Robles said. “That’s how fast this thing happened.”

Galloway had a duty to investigate the crime, he said, and Trujillo is the person to blame for the fatal accident.