Two women were arrested for assault and another cited for driving under the influence after skirmish that resulted in a crash early Sunday on County Road 203, about four miles north of Durango, according to the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office.
All three women appeared to be intoxicated. The driver, Veronica Archuleta, 43, of Durango, was cited on suspicion of DUI, said La Plata County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Wes Doughty.
Passengers in the car, Cecilia Evans, 27, of Durango, and Destiny Whiteman, 19, of Cortez, were arrested on suspicion of assault, Doughty said.
Chris Burke, spokesman with the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office, said Whiteman has been uncooperative with the Sheriff’s Office, and she initially gave a false identity to deputies.
Evans, who had her hands around Whiteman’s throat when the first officer arrived on scene, was arrested in connection with second-degree assault.
Whiteman also was arrested in connection with second-degree assault. Whiteman was also arrested on suspicion of criminal impersonation, Burke said.
Doughty said it was unclear what the women were arguing about, but the argument appeared to have started in the Kia Optima they were all riding in.
The car appeared to have been in a crash, but Doughty did not have details about the crash.
“Three people were in a vehicle, a fight broke out, and the driver crashed and was cited for DUI and then the other two were charged with assault,” he said.
Doughty said the call first came in at 1:46 a.m. Sunday as a two-vehicle crash, but when an officer from the Durango Police Department arrived on scene, he discovered it to be a one-vehicle crash.
A DPD officer was closest to the scene and was first to arrive, but the call was then taken over by the Sheriff’s Office, Doughty said.
Doughty said the car, discovered sideways in the road with its front tires off the side asphalt, had been damaged from a collision, but it was unclear what the car had hit, and no other vehicle was at the scene when officers arrived.
parmijo@durangoherald.com
This story has been updated to correct the identity of Destiny Whiteman, one of the women arrested on suspicion of assault, and the grounds on which she was arrested has been added to this article.
