ALBUQUERQUE, NM (KRQE) – New video shows the scene after a car went up in flames and a person was killed in a car accident near the tram. Six months after the accident, police said the woman was behind the wheel during the fatal accident and is now charged with vehicle homicide.
Representatives from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office arrived on March 12 on Paseo del Norte near Browning. MPs said Donna Helgesen was driving her son when she left a car driven by Rick Rivera. Rivera’s car went up in flames.
Witness: “I just saw it burst.”
Deputy: “Did you see it burst?”
Witness: “Yes. It was like a movie scene. “
The passenger in Rivera’s car made it. Witnesses pulled Rivera out the window of the burning car, but he died on the scene. That night, Helgesen’s son refused to speak to MPs, and according to a criminal complaint, Helgesen looked “confused” when he had questions.
According to a criminal complaint, the steering wheel’s DNA shows that Helgesen was driving at over 160 mph in a 55-mile zone. Helgesen is charged with assault. On the night of the crash, she refused to speak to the deputies in the hospital.
“I’m sorry I can’t talk to you, but everyone says that I shouldn’t,” said Helgesen. Her son admitted to drinking and drinking cocaine to a local firefighter, but Helgesen was never tested for alcohol levels.
A Bernalillo County District Attorney’s spokesman made the following statement:
“Donna Helgesen has not been tested for her blood alcohol level. The BCSO representative, who was looking for signs of impairment, said he was in close proximity to her and had not seen any alcohol odor or any signs of impairment. Based on the information from the DWI officer, there was no likely reason for our office to obtain an arrest warrant for her blood alcohol level. We received the full case and discovery in August and signed the warrant in early September. The case is now pending. ”
District Court judge Britt Baca-Miller recently allowed Helgesen to get out of jail pending trial on the grounds that she has a minimal criminal record and one of six points on the “new criminal activity” scale. Prosecutors had argued that she had a history of drug and alcohol abuse.
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