Driver in fatal DWI pleads not guilty

SANTA FE (KRQE) - Deborah Aaron, 56, didn't say much during her arraignment in Santa Fe District Court Tuesday but appeared a little shell-shocked before pleading not guilty to a vehicular homicide and a DWI charge.

Santa Fe police say Aaron, a surgeon in the city, was driving drunk when she collided with a mini-van late Friday night at the intersection of St. Francis Drive and Siringo Road.

Investigators say Juliana Reyes Vasquez, 4, died early Saturday morning from injuries sustained in that wreck. Her sister, Jasmine Reyes Vasquez, 3, was airlifted to UNM Hospital but has since been released. The girl's mother, Carla Vasquez Rivera, is listed in satisfactory condition at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center.

District Court Judge Michael Vigil set a $100,000 bond for Aaron, which her defense attorney Dan Cron says she posted shortly after today's arraignment. Aaron will be allowed to live in Scottsdale, AZ with her mother following her release but will be tracked by GPS.

"[She is] devastated by this tragic loss of life and is sorry about everything that happened," said Cron, Aaron's defense attorney.

Investigators say they are still determining the exact cause of the accident.

"There's a variety of different factors that we need to put together," said Capt. Aric Wheeler with the Santa Fe Police Dept. "We have to execute search warrants to determine all the different types of factors applicable to the vehicles and anything else that may become relevant to the case."

According to the criminal complaint, Aaron told police Vasquez ran the red light. If it is determined Aaron did not cause the accident, she cannot be convicted of vehicular homicide.