One of the mothers involved in drunk driving crash makes first court appearance

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — One of the two mothers facing charges for a drunk driving crash that killed two of their own children made her first appearance in court.

Danielle Ortiz, 23, appeared before a judge via video call Monday afternoon. She’s been charged with two counts of abandonment or abuse of a child resulting in death, and two more resulting in great bodily injury.

Prosecutors have filed a motion to keep her in jail before trial, which a district court judge will rule on at a later date.

According to police, Ortiz was the passenger in a car being driven by her friend, 23-year-old Alexis Martinez. The two were driving on I-25 when Martinez lost control and crashed north of the Big-I at around 3:30 a.m. last Tuesday.

Ortiz’s two-month-old child was killed, along with Martinez’s 7-year-old. Two other children in the car were also hurt.

Police said both women had been drinking before the crash. APD is also waiting on blood test results to see if Ortiz and Martinez were under the influence of anything else.

Martinez faces the same charges as Ortiz, but has yet to make her first appearance in court because she’s still in the hospital.