SANDOVAL COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) – Newly released video shows the moment law enforcement responded to a crash involving a New Mexico State Police officer who, at the time, was reportedly driving drunk.
Officials say Hugo Diaz-Amaya, 33, was involved in two crashes that he left the scene of, hit street signs, and caused a crash on Highway 550 between Highway 528 and the Santa Ana Casino. He is charged with DWI, reckless driving, and failure to report an accident.
According to body camera video, Diaz-Amaya told an officer he was coming back from a gas station when he hit another car. Officers called for the DWI unit to respond and then started asking Diaz-Amaya about a crash near the Santa Ana Star Casino.
“So, I rear-ended somebody. I don’t have insurance, bro,” he told law enforcement.
Diaz-Amaya denied using drugs and prescription medicine and told officers that he would pass a breathalyzer test.
Officer: “Have you had any alcohol to drink today?”
Diaz-Amaya: “Not at all.”
Officer: “If I were to give you a breath test for alcohol right now, would you blow zeros?”
Diaz-Amaya: “Absolutely, yeah.”
Diaz-Amaya was given a breath test, which he passed, but he was also given a blood test, which we don’t know the results of.
He later admitted to officers that he was actually on a muscle relaxer. He was arrested and later released on his own recognizance.
