PHOENIX — A man has been charged in a rollover crash on South Mountain that severely injured his girlfriend.
Phoenix police report that December 31, around 4:30 a.m., an officer responded to a rollover crash near the Dobbins Lookout Point at South Mountain Park.
There, police found two people outside a pickup truck that had rolled off the road. A 22-year-old woman had severe injuries and was transported to a local hospital.
The driver, Rafael Osualdo Puentes, 25, reportedly told police that he was driving down the mountain, lost control, and rolled off the side of the road, causing his girlfriend to be ejected.
Puentes allegedly said he had four to five beers about two hours before the crash. Police say a preliminary breath test had a reading of .082.
Court records show the passenger has a broken neck, major spinal cord injuries, and is paralyzed from the neck down.
Puentes has been charged with aggravated assault.
