Woman with suspended DWI sentence charged in deadly El Paso crash

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- A 29-year-old woman accused of a deadly hit-and-run had a suspended sentence for driving while intoxicated with two children at the time, according to court documents.

On Saturday, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office said Melanie Christine Cuellar was found in Mexico and returned to El Paso. EPCSO said she was wanted for the deadly crash and for DWI with children.

The U.S. Marshals Service took her into custody and transported her to the Eagle Pass Port of Entry, EPCSO said. From there, the Maverick County Sheriff's Office took custody to transport her to El Paso.

EPCSO booked her into the County Downtown Detention Facility. Her bond for a collision involving death was set at $150,000. EPCSO said she's being held without bond on the DWI with a child charge.

An arrest affidavit said Cuellar had her children with her at the time of the deadly crash. Documents said her son told authorities he "saw his mom run over a lady."

Cuellar allegedly ran over a woman and drove away

The arrest affidavit said Cuellar ran over a woman on July 19, 2025 at 9:22 a.m.

Maria Lopez walked across Alameda Avenue in South-Central El Paso, investigators wrote. She waited for the traffic to clear before walking onto the westbound lanes. That's when Cuellar, allegedly driving an SUV, hit Lopez, investigators wrote.

Cuellar allegedly drove away without helping Lopez. She sustained major head trauma and died at the crash site, documents said.

At the crash site, investigators received surveillance video from a nearby business that recorded the crash. Documents said the video showed Cuellar driving over Lopez' body with her left rear tire.

The same day at 9:20 p.m., a person called 911 to report seeing the SUV allegedly involved in the crash. Documents said the reporter saw the SUV parked on Grant Avenue in Central El Paso.

The caller said Cuellar is his uncle's ex-girlfriend, documents said. He also told authorities Cuellar allegedly left the SUV and possibly went to Mexico with children.

Investigators said the caller's uncle told him to report the SUV because "he did not want his mother to get in trouble as she was the registered owner of the vehicle."

Investigators then met with Cuellar's ex-boyfriend, who was with his son at the time. Documents said his sun started crying because he "saw his mom run over a lady."

Cuellar's ex-boyfriend told investigators he met with her after the crash to ask what happened. Cuellar allegedly said she hit something and was going to flee to Mexico.

Her ex-boyfriend noticed damage on the SUV that wasn't there before the crash, documents said.

Investigators said Cuellar's ex also said he realized she may have been involved in the deadly hit-and-run after seeing it on the news.

Documents said investigators used surveillance video that showed Cuellar driving to her apartment in the SUV with her two children. Other video showed the SUV at Grant Avenue about 20-30 minutes later, documents said.

Authorities received a search warrant for the SUV. They compared a piece of grill collected from the crash site to the damage seen on the SUV. Documents said they patched.

Investigators wrote they also found hair and body tissue on the left wheel.

At the time of the deadly crash, Cuellar had a suspended sentence for DWI with a child

Court documents said Cuellar was found guilty of driving while intoxicated with her two children. Her sentence was suspended on Sept. 19, 2024. She had a six-month sentence in a state jail. She was then placed on community supervision for two years, documents said.

An arrest affidavit said the DWI offense happened on March 29, 2024.

Police went to the Paso Del Norte Bridge after learning about an impaired driver with children in an SUV, documents said. Investigators said her boyfriend was in the passenger seat.

Customs and Border Protection agents said Cuellar had "red, glassy, bloodshot eyes" and admitted to drinking, documents said. An agent directed Cuellar to a secondary area, where police were called to assist.

Documents said Cuellar went to Ciudad Juarez to visit her brother and was driving home. She allegedly admitted to drinking about four tall-boy alcoholic beverages.

The officer conducted a field sobriety test and determined Cuellar was intoxicated, documents said. The officer arrested and transported her for processing.

Documents said she provided a breath sample, which resulted in 0.157 and 0.159 BrAC.