
Luna County Sheriff’s Captain Jose Martinez said 56-year-old Luis Vargas-Varela was airlifted to El Paso with injuries including a sternum fracture, broken elbow and bruised lung after he lost control of the Ford Explorer he was driving on Keeler Road.
Martinez said the vehicle rolled, landed on its side and trapped Vargas-Varela inside.
The accident occurred just after 9 p.m. Sunday.
Once responders were able to get Vargas-Varela out of the wreckage, he refused medical treatment and refused to submit to field sobriety tests, so Martinez said he was taken to the Sheriff’s Department to be charged with aggravated DUI.
It was during that process that Vargas-Varela and sheriff’s officials realized the extent of Vargas-Varela’s injuries and had him transported to the hospital.
A criminal summons has been filed on Vargas-Varela for aggravated DUI, having an open container and no driver’s license. He also had two active warrants.