SHIPROCK, N.M. (KRQE) – A 22-year-old man from Shiprock was sentenced to prison for a crash that left a passenger in his vehicle dead in 2021, the United States Attorney’s Office District of New Mexico announced Wednesday.
Keanu Marcel Upshaw, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was sentenced to 37 months in prison. Upshaw pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter on April 6.
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According to court documents, on Sept. 16, 2021, following a night of drinking, Upshaw lost control of the vehicle he was driving as he was attempting to take another drink of alcohol, causing it to crash and ejecting both Upshaw and his passenger from the vehicle. Upshaw’s passenger died from their injuries.
A blood draw taken about two hours after the accident showed that Upshaw’s blood alcohol concentration was .18, which is more than twice the legal limit in New Mexico, according to court documents. Accident reconstruction showed that Upshaw was traveling somewhere between 69 to 80 mph in a 55 mph zone when he lost control of the vehicle.
Upon his release from prison, Upshaw will possibly face three years of supervised release.
