Victim, advocate speak up after DWI deception

Victim, advocate speak up after DWI deception

Victims and advocates are speaking up in light of the DWI deception scandal. Across the board, many say they're disheartened to hear this scheme had been going on for at least 16 years in multiple agencies.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —  Victims and advocates are speaking up in light of the DWI deception scandal. Across the board, many say they’re disheartened to hear this scheme had been going on for at least 16 years in multiple agencies. 

“I don’t know what I would do if I would have lost my daughter. Like, I don’t know what I would do,” Trevisha Traylor said. 

Traylor nearly lost her daughter three years ago after a drunk driver hit the car her daughter and former husband were in. KOB 4 first spoke to her right after the crash in January 2022.

Now, three years later, Traylor says her daughter, who was just 2 years old at the time, still has trauma. After hearing about the DWI scandal, Traylor is frustrated to say the least—saying she feels like she’s on her own when it comes to who can keep her family safe. 

“You’re supposed to, like, protect and you’re supposed to help us, like, you’re supposed to, like, do the right thing. What’s the point of having a badge if you’re not gonna take it serious?” Traylor said. 

Like many, Traylor feels like she’s on her own. Her daughter and former husband were on Wyoming when a drunk driver T-boned them. 2-year-old Alyricc was thrown from her car seat. She had a broken neck, pelvis, three spinal fractures, internal bleeding and was in a medical coma. 

“She had to learn how to walk again. Like, it was hard, but she’s one of the strongest kids I know,” Traylor said. 

But while the physical injuries are healed, the now 5 year old is traumatized. 

“In the car, she still has, like, even when people pick up speed, my daughter, she just like freezes up,” Traylor continued. “That was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to deal with as a mom, seeing my daughter like that and going through that.” 

Now, Traylor says any chance she can talk about the dangers of drunk driving, she will. Especially after learning about the DWI deception scandal in the metro. 

“I’m gonna always be my daughter’s voice until she could speak for herself,” Traylor said. 

Like Traylor, Linda Atkinson has also become a voice for the voiceless. 

“Victim’s voice needs to be heard in a court of law, and too many times, they’re silenced,” Atkinson said. 

Atkinson is the executive director for the DWI Resource Center and Victim Rights Project. They gather statewide data to try and reduce drunk driving. She was angry when she first heard about the DWI scandal—but not surprised.       

“We knew something was going on, because looking at data, we would see the people with private attorneys versus public defenders. We saw a higher dismissal rate,” Atkinson said. 

While they noticed something wrong, Atkinson explained they didn’t have enough resources to dig deeper. 

A recent plea agreement revealed the deception went on for more than 16 years and involved the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, Albuquerque police and New Mexico State Police. The agreement alleges that in exchange for money, DWI offenders got off scot-free. 

But on top of that, the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s office had to dismiss hundreds of pending DWI cases and might have to dismiss even more. That alone has Atkinson worried. 

“The fact that these people got a, you know, a free pass, it’ll be free until they kill themselves or someone else, that’s not so free,” Atkinson continued. “I have zero faith that we’re going to get any safer. It is what one victim told me many years ago, ‘This is a do-it-yourself state.’ And I said, ‘Yes, it is.'”      

At this point, no local officers have been charged or indicted in the alleged scheme.