ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The man accused of hitting and killing a local priest is sitting in jail after turning himself in just before midnight. Father Graham Golden and Brother Lorenzo Romero were pulling out of the Santa Maria de la Vid Abbey in May when a pickup truck broadsided them on Coors.
Father Golden was killed and Brother Romero was badly hurt. The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office says Manuel Soria was behind the wheel of that pickup and was racing another car.
Soria’s attorney tried to get the warrant quashed, but Soria turned himself in late Tuesday night. Prosecutors are asking that he be locked up until trial. Soria faced a judge for the first time Wednesday. He’s charged with vehicular homicide in the death of Father Golden and of great bodily injury for the serious injuries to his passenger.
Prosecutors argue his actions that day show a disregard for the safety of those around him and no conditions of release will keep the community safe. A district judge will have to rule on that motion.
