ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) says 60-year-old Evelyn Bustamante, from Shiprock, will spend five years in prison after a fatal rollover crash. The 2021 crash involved Bustamante’s grandchildren, who were not wearing seatbelts or in car seats, the DOJ says.
Bustamante was driving from Shiprock to Farmington, New Mexico when the crash occurred. At Northern Navajo Medical Center, Bustamante admitted to consuming both alcohol and methamphetamine, the DOJ says. Five days after the crash, one of Bustamante’s grandchildren died at the University of New Mexico Hospital. The other grandchild recovered.
Bustamante took a plea deal in 2023. Now, a federal court has sentenced Bustamante to five years in prison and three years of supervised release afterwards.
