5/7/09
Pojoaque Pueblo Lt. Gov. Linda Diaz was partying at Club Tropicana in Española the night she struck and killed a 31-year-old Chimayó man, according to the victim’s family.
Esequiel Espinoza said he was told by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is investigating the case, that Diaz was drinking at Club Tropicana and elsewhere before hitting his son, Philip Espinoza, on Highway 84/285 in Pojoaque sometime in the early morning hours of April 4.
Club Tropicana manager Mike Marquez would neither confirm nor deny whether Diaz was in the establishment the night of April 3.
Diaz allegedly struck Espinoza just south of the highway’s intersection with State Road 503 and left him on the side of the road, according to a Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department report. Diaz allegedly called Pojoaque Tribal Police the following day and said she had “done something very bad,” the report states.
Esequiel Espinoza said he believes the reason Diaz did not approach law enforcement immediately after the accident was because she had been drinking.
“He could have been alive for four to five hours. My question is, why would anyone, even if you were the guilty party, why wouldn’t you call 911 and he could have lived?” he said.
Police have not provided any evidence that Diaz had been drinking and she has not returned multiple calls for comment.
Esequiel Espinoza said Bureau of Indian Affairs agent J.P. Montwine told him Diaz did not specifically admit to causing the death. No arrests have been made or charges have been brought in the case.
On Monday, 30 days from the day Espinoza was killed, Esequiel Espinoza was anxious to get answers from the Bureau, who told him a grand jury will be soon be convened to hear Diaz’s case.
“(Montwine) assured me in the federal government there’s no prejudices of who you are, they will try you legally, so that was comforting,” Esequiel Espinoza said. “I don’t want this case to be under the table and hid because of politics or whatever.”
Montwine and other Bureau agents, as well as representatives of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, did not return calls for comment. The investigation is being handled by federal authorities because the incident allegedly occurred on Indian land and the suspect is a tribal member.
One Month Since Death
On April 4, Esequiel Espinoza, who is an Española Middle School Spanish teacher, had just completed testing for his master’s degree and was celebrating at home with his family. At 6:45 p.m., two Sheriff’s deputies came to his house and asked him and his wife to sit down so they could talk.
“My wife said, ‘Is it Philip?’ He said yes. And she said, ‘Is he dead?’ and he said, ‘Yeah, he was killed this morning by a hit and run.’”
The youngest of Esequiel and Eunice Espinoza’s five sons, Philip Espinoza was a four-year veteran of the U.S. Army who served a one-year tour of duty in Korea. An Española Valley High School graduate, Espinoza studied graphic design and sign language at Northern New Mexico College.
The last time Esequiel Espinoza saw his son was April 1, when he went out for dinner with his mother and sister, Bella-Anne.
“He said, ‘Hey, Dad,’” Esequiel Espinoza said. “That’s the last words I heard from him.”