Police: Man in fatal crash has history of DWI
The Pecos man accused of causing a fatal accident that took the life of his female passenger Saturday morning in San Miguel County has a long history of driving under the influence, according to court records.
Macario Garcia-Lopez pleaded guilty to aggravated DWI at least three times — in 1999, 2003 and 2014 — according to a search of online court records. He also has been cited for various traffic violations.
State police charged Garcia-Lopez, 50, with vehicular homicide, driving while under the influence, tampering with evidence, careless driving and driving without a license following the fatal crash on N.M. 63 near mile post 2 in Pecos.
Police say an initial investigation shows Garcia-Lopez was driving a 1994 Ford truck south when the vehicle left the road, overturned and landed upside down.
The passenger, Eleanor Valencia, 53, of Pecos, was ejected from the vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene by the Office of the Medical Investigator.
Garcia-Lopez sustained minor injuries and was treated by emergency medical personnel on the scene. Police booked him into San Miguel County Adult Detention Center on Saturday afternoon. A state police spokesman said alcohol appeared to be a factor in the accident, adding seat belts weren’t properly utilized.
On Sunday afternoon, state police Lt. Mark Soriano said investigators were again on the scene. He said this is at least the seventh charge of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs for Garcia-Lopez.
Online court records show GarciaLopez served time in jail for at least two of the DWI charges and was placed under supervised probation for 364 days for the 2014 charge.
In 2009 he also pleaded guilty for being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, though the records do not indicate if he was driving at the time.