Sunland Park teen arrested after ATV crash; left injured underage girl behind

SUNLAND PARK, N.M. (KFOX14/CBS4) — A 19-year-old Sunland Park teen was arrested on child abuse and other charges after authorities said he left an underage girl with severe injuries to fend for herself after crashing a stolen ATV.

The Sunland Park Police Department posted on social media the mugshot of Oscar Sosa, saying that he was arrested and charged with the following:

Abuse/child resulting in great bodilyContributing to delinquency of a minorUnlawful taking of motor vehicle Leaving the scene

According to police documents, the charges stem from a crash that happened on April 10, involving a white all-terrain vehicle that was stolen in Santa Teresa, and first responders described finding an underage girl with a “severe open wound injury” to her leg, adding her bones were “exposed outside the skin.”

Investigators stated that the family of the girl identified Sosa as the suspect.

Documents then described officers who visited Sosa’s home but didn’t find him.

Eventually, officers said they spotted Sosa “limping” down McNutt Road, near the Sunland Park Sports Complex, adding that he appeared dusty, full of thorns and missing a shoe.

The officer stopped Sosa to question him.

According to the documents, Sosa reportedly told the officer that he picked up the underage girl on Rio Grande Drive in Sunland Park, but said he didn’t really know her, adding that he thought she was 18.

Sosa also reportedly told the officer they both had been drinking before crashing the ATV.

However, before telling officers about the crash, Sosa first described that migrants had robbed the ATV, but then walked back the story.

Sosa denied stealing the ATV and said he didn’t know where the girl was after the crash.

In the documents, officers also said they had learned Sosa had been involved in an “aggravated fleeing law enforcement” incident while riding that same ATV the day before.

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