The View Homes lawsuit ended in April 2025 with a Santa Fe jury ordering the New Mexico homebuilder to pay just over $190 million to the families and survivors of a January 2023 drunk-driving crash in Chaparral. The jury found View Homes Inc. liable for the actions of Patrick James Woods, its Vice President and Director of Land Acquisition, who was driving a company vehicle between job sites while intoxicated when he caused a head-on collision that killed two 20-year-olds and seriously injured three others.1KFOX. Chaparral Crash Victims’ Families Win $190M Verdict Against Drunk Driver’s Employer
What Happened in the Crash
On the evening of January 17, 2023, at around 5:25 p.m., Woods was driving a gray Jeep northbound on Highway 213 near Mile Marker 1 in Chaparral, New Mexico, at high speed. It was raining. The road was slick. Woods crossed into oncoming traffic without braking and hit a black Toyota Scion head-on, killing driver Jose Marrero, 20, and passenger Desiree Seanez, 20. The Jeep then went airborne and struck a third vehicle, injuring Dominic Jimenez, Raelene Roberts, and Sean Romero. Jimenez suffered a back injury that causes him daily pain.2KRQE. El Paso Man Accused of Killing 2 in Chaparral Crash3New Mexico Courts. State of New Mexico v. Patrick James Woods, No. A-1-CA-41542
Deputies found an open bottle of Fireball whiskey on the floor of the Jeep and reported the smell of alcohol coming from the vehicle. Woods fled on foot into the desert while the victims remained trapped in their crushed car, and was later apprehended on Golden Sun Drive in Chaparral.2KRQE. El Paso Man Accused of Killing 2 in Chaparral Crash
Why View Homes Was Held Liable
The civil suit, Dominic Jimenez et al. v. View Homes Incorporated, Case No. D-101-CV-2023-00269, was filed in the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe on behalf of the two families who lost children and the three surviving crash victims.1KFOX. Chaparral Crash Victims’ Families Win $190M Verdict Against Drunk Driver’s Employer
The plaintiffs argued that Woods was acting within the course and scope of his employment when he caused the crash, which under New Mexico’s respondeat superior doctrine makes the employer liable for the harm. Their theory was straightforward: he was a company executive, in a company vehicle, moving between company job sites. View Homes disputed that Woods was on duty at the time. The company also tried to push liability onto SDC, a smaller subsidiary that technically employed Woods, rather than onto the parent.4KTSM. Families of Victims Killed in Chaparral Crash Receive $190M
The jury rejected both defenses. It found that Woods was on duty when the crash happened, and that View Homes Inc., not just its subsidiary, was the responsible employer.4KTSM. Families of Victims Killed in Chaparral Crash Receive $190M
Under New Mexico law, an employer is responsible for an employee’s harmful acts if the employee was acting within the course and scope of employment, meaning the act was fairly incidental to the employer’s business and performed to further the employer’s interests. Whether an employee falls within that scope is decided case by case on the facts.5FindLaw. Morris v. Giant Four Corners Inc. Here, the facts pointed one way.
The $190 Million Verdict
On the evening of April 22, 2025, the Santa Fe jury returned a verdict of just over $190 million covering the Marrero and Seanez families along with the three injured survivors. Published reports did not break the total into compensatory and punitive components.1KFOX. Chaparral Crash Victims’ Families Win $190M Verdict Against Drunk Driver’s Employer
The plaintiffs were represented by attorneys Noe Valles and Laney Piercy of Glasheen, Valles & Inderman Injury Lawyers.4KTSM. Families of Victims Killed in Chaparral Crash Receive $190M After the verdict, Valles said: “Corporations need to understand that when they allow their employees to drive and use their vehicles, they are going to be held responsible.”1KFOX. Chaparral Crash Victims’ Families Win $190M Verdict Against Drunk Driver’s Employer
What Happened to the Driver Criminally
The civil lawsuit ran alongside a separate criminal case against Woods. He was 37 at the time of the crash and was charged with two counts of homicide by vehicle, great bodily injury by vehicle, leaving the scene of an accident, failure to give immediate notice of an accident, resisting and evading arrest, and having open containers of alcohol.6Las Cruces Sun-News. Man Receives 12 Years in Prison After DWI Homicides in Chaparral
Woods pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced on October 23, 2023, to 12 years in prison, short of the maximum possible sentence of 16 years and nine months.6Las Cruces Sun-News. Man Receives 12 Years in Prison After DWI Homicides in Chaparral At sentencing, Desiree Seanez’s parents told the court their daughter “had her life stolen.”7CBS4 Local. Chaparral Hit-and-Run Convict Sentenced to 12 Years; Victims’ Parents Speak at Sentencing Jose Marrero’s mother, Yadira Corona, said her son “took part of my heart with him and it’s something that’s never gonna be replaced.”8KFOX. El Paso Man on House Arrest for Deadly Head-On Crash in Chaparral Allowed to Leave Home
Where the Case Stands
View Homes is a residential homebuilder operating in southern New Mexico, including active communities in Las Cruces, with homes ranging from roughly 1,200 to 2,100 square feet.9View Homes. New Mexico The $190 million award is among the largest personal injury verdicts in New Mexico history. Whether View Homes will pursue post-trial motions or an appeal remains open, and as of the most recent available reporting, no public filings reducing or overturning the verdict have been identified.