The Artesia man involved in a July 2016 wreck that injured a family of six has pleaded no contest to the charges against him.
Blake Bollema, 32, entered the plea last week in Fifth Judicial District Court in Carlsbad to the following charges: misdemeanor aggravated DWI (second offense), six third-degree-felony counts of great bodily harm by vehicle, fourth-degree-felony counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving great bodily harm or death and failure to give information and render aid, and petty misdemeanor counts of reckless driving and failure to yield.
Bollema is now scheduled for sentencing at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10, before Judge Lisa B. Riley in district court.
The incident occurred July 1, 2016, at U.S. 285 and 13th Street; Bollema, who was travelling north on 13th, failed to stop at the intersection, colliding with a SUV southbound on 285.
Three members of the Gabriel Granado family were treated at Artesia General Hospital and released; three more – the mother, a 5-year-old boy, and an 8-year-old girl – were airlifted to Lubbock, Texas, the girl with serious injuries. She remained hospitalized for several weeks before being released.
Bollema initially fled the scene but returned approximately one hour later, telling New Mexico State Police he had left to seek aid for a passenger in his truck, who had remained at the scene. Officers say they noted a scent of alcohol on Bollema’s breath and signs of impairment, but he refused field, breath and blood sobriety tests. The NMSP obtained a warrant to collect a blood sample a few hours later, which still showed Bollema’s blood alcohol level to be .08.
