Casamero Lake Woman Pleads Guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter in Fatal Hit-and-Run

ALBUQUERQUE – A Casamero Lake woman pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter after striking and killing a pedestrian on a dirt road while driving drunk.

According to court documents, on or about August 6, 2024, Debbie Rojack, 45, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, hit and killed John Doe on a dirt road after drinking a 6-pack of beer the day of the incident. John Doe’s body was found on the side of the road four days later. The cause of death is listed as blunt force trauma. Investigators located car parts in the area of John Doe’s body which later came back to a vehicle owned by Rojack.

On October 4, 2024, Special Agents spoke to Rojack again, who stated that she had heard that someone was killed in the same canyon where her accident had occurred and confirmed that she was the only person in the vehicle at the time of the accident.

Rojack pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. At sentencing, Rojack faces up to eight years in prison. Upon her release from prison, Rojack will be subject to three years of supervised release.

Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Gallup Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations and the New Mexico State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittany DuChaussee is prosecuting the case.

This press release was posted November 13, after the end of the federal government shutdown.