Woman wanted by police after passenger dies during April DWI crash in Flora Vista area

• Christina Hanen, 35, was charged on July 16 with five charges including a second-degree felony count of homicide by vehicle (DWI) and two third-degree felony counts of great bodily harm by vehicle, according to the criminal complaint.
• Hanen is accused of killing Ashley Ortega by driving drunk and crashing a SUV on the night of April 17 in the Flora Vista area.
• One man suffered multiple injuries including multiple rib fractures, a fracture on the upper part of his sternum and a dislocated shoulder and hip.

FARMINGTON — A San Juan County woman who is accused of killing a female passenger while driving drunk and seriously injuring two other passengers during a vehicle crash in April is wanted by law enforcement.

The defendant is also accused of speeding in excess of 70 miles per hour and having a blood alcohol content more than three times the legal limit.

Christina Hanen, 35, was charged on July 16 with five charges including a second-degree felony count of homicide by vehicle (DWI) and two third-degree felony counts of great bodily harm by vehicle, according to the criminal complaint.

Hanen is accused of killing Ashley Ortega by driving drunk and crashing an SUV on the night of April 17 in the Flora Vista area, according to court documents. No city of residence or age was listed for Ortega in court documents.

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The defendant’s arrest warrant was still active on the morning of July 20. The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office handled the investigation.

Deputies were dispatched around 11:30 p.m. on April 17 to the area of County Road 3566 in the Flora Vista area on reports of single vehicle rollover crash.

Ortega was pronounced dead at the scene by the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator. Two male passengers and Hanen were transported to San Juan Regional Medical Center for injuries.

One male passenger and Hanen did not remember the crash while the second male passenger said he did remember the incident, court records state. The male witness told investigators Hanen was driving a Chevy SUV and Ortega was sitting in the lap of a male passenger in the rear passenger seat.

All four occupants of the vehicle were at a party that evening, consuming alcohol., court documents state. 

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The defendant is accused of driving drunk and speeding in excess of 70 mph when she lost control of the vehicle, according to the affidavit. The SUV then slid about 140 feet before it tipped and rolled another 264 feet into an embankment.

Ortega was ejected and landed in the path of the SUV, which rolled over her, according to court documents. Her cause of death in her autopsy report is listed as blunt force trauma, according to court documents.

One man injured in the crash was flown to an Albuquerque hospital for advanced treatment, according to court records. His injuries included multiple rib fractures, a fracture on the upper part of his sternum and a dislocated shoulder and hip along with lacerations on his liver and spleen.

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The man who was interviewed about the crash suffered a compression fracture of a vertebrae and fractures in two vertebrae, court records state.

Hanen’s hospital toxicology report showed a 0.245 blood alcohol content, more than three times the state's legal limit of 0.08.

While the crash occurred on April 17, an investigator on July 13 reviewed the medical records of the three people who survived the crash after serving a search warrant to the hospital.

The charges were filed against Hanen three days later.

Joshua Kellogg covers breaking news for The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4627 or via email at jkellogg@daily-times.com.

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