A 4-year-old Santa Fe girl died early Saturday morning after a car crash that police say was caused by a suspected drunken driver. The girl’s 3-year-old sister was airlifted to University Hospital in Albuquerque.
Deborah Lyn Aaron, 56, of Santa Fe was charged with driving while intoxicated and vehicular homicide. Investigators say she was heading southbound on St. Francis Drive in a Land Rover at about 11 p.m. when she collided with a minivan eastbound on Siringo Road.

Carla Vasquez Rivera was driving her children, Yeretez Jasmine Reyes Vasquez, 3, and Juliana Reyes Vasquez, 4, in the van. Police say both girls were in booster seats at the time of the collision.

Both drivers and the two child passengers were transported to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center for treatment. The drivers sustained injuries that were not life-threatening, police said. Both agreed to have their blood drawn. Police say lab tests won’t begin until Tuesday, however.

Juliana Reyes Vasquez was pronounced dead at the hospital at about 1 a.m. Yeretez Jasmine Reyes Vasquez was flown to Albuquerque for further treatment. A report on her condition was not available Saturday afternoon.

The noise of the late-night crash woke Edward Santana, who lives on Siringo Road. He walked to the intersection and saw one vehicle upside down, he said, along with a swarm of emergency vehicles. On Saturday morning, he returned to the crash site, where among remaining debris he found a Crayola marker and a bag of Cheetos that he suspects came from the family vehicle.

“That’s an awful thing,” he said, noting that he’d heard on the morning television news about the child’s death. “There are no skid marks here. They didn’t even have time to hit the brakes.”

Police who arrived at the crash scene administered field sobriety tests to Aaron, who exhibited signs of impairment and was subsequently arrested, said Capt. George Ortiz. She was booked into the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Center on Saturday afternoon.

A doctor named Deborah Lyn Aaron was employed as a surgeon by Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center three years ago, according to spokesman Arturo Delgado. Sources indicate that a person with the same name also is affiliated with Santa Fe Surgical Associates, but they would not confirm whether the driver in the crash was the same Aaron.

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.