San Juan County, NM — April 28, 2025, Cody Newton and Francis Matias were killed due to an alleged drunk driver accident at around 1:48 a.m. on Navajo Route 36.
According to the San Juan County Sheriff’s Department, the collision happened in the area of mile marker 27.
It appears that 34-year-old Cody Newton and 54-year-old Francis Matias were on bicycles going along Route 36. While doing so, authorities say that an alleged drunk driver hit both Newton and Matias. As a result, Cody Newton and Francis Matias were both killed.
The alleged drunk driver was arrested for homicide by motor vehicle-DWI. Additional details are unavailable at this time.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
If the allegations here are true, then that obviously calls for serious consequences. However, the alleged drunk driver might not be the only person who broke the law and contributed to this accident. Similar to Texas, New Mexico has laws regarding alcohol providers over-serving customers. They can be held accountable for doing so, especially when their over-service leads to a deadly accident. Have authorities here taken steps to find out where the allegedly drunk driver had been drinking? There could still be more to this story that the victims’ loved ones deserve to know.
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