If Pojoaque Pueblo's lieutenant governor had struck and killed a fellow American Indian on U.S. 84/285 in April, she likely would not be facing charges in connection with the death, U.S. Attorney Greg Fouratt said Thursday.

That's because the accident — which took place on pueblo land — would have involved only American Indians and, therefore, could only have been charged under federal law, he said. And there isn't a federal statute that would have fit the crime, Fouratt said.

However, because the victim, Phillip Espinoza of Chimayó, was not an Indian, the U.S. Attorney's Office could utilize state law in charging Linda Diaz, he said.

A federal grand jury indicted Diaz, 52, on a felony charge of leaving the scene of a fatal accident and failing to render aid, according to the indictment filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court. The charge accuses Diaz of driving a vehicle that was involved in an accident that resulted in Espinoza's death, the indictment says.

A man walking his dog discovered Espinoza's body about noon April 4 in or near bushes alongside the highway, Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano has said. An autopsy determined Espinoza had been lying there five or six hours before he was discovered. Espinoza was last seen about 10 p.m. April 3 at Big Rock Casino in Española, where he worked.

Diaz called Pojoaque tribal police in the late morning hours of April 5 and told them she had "done something very bad," according to a Sheriff's Department report. A side mirror that matched Diaz's 2000 Mercury sedan was found near Espinoza's body, and the car sustained damage consistent with striking the 31-year-old, the report says.

Fouratt said Diaz wasn't charged with vehicular homicide under state law, or involuntary manslaughter under federal law, because he would have had to prove she was intoxicated at the time of the crash or driving recklessly.

There were no witnesses to the crash and prosecutors believe there were no passengers in Diaz's car. Blood-alcohol content results were unavailable, because she didn't turn herself in to police until more than 30 hours after the crash, he said.

Asked if he thought Diaz got away with anything by not turning herself until long after the crash, Fouratt said no.

"If she hadn't gone to the Pojoaque Police Department and said, 'I've done something bad,' it might have been a hard crime to solve," he said.

Diaz is scheduled to be arraigned on the charge at 9:30 a.m. June 25 in Federal Court in Albuquerque, before U.S. Magistrate Richard Puglisi. She faces up to three years in prison and three years supervised release if convicted of the crime.

Attempts to reach Diaz's lawyer, Sam Winder, on Thursday were not successful.

Contact Jason Auslander at 986-3076 or :jauslander@sfnewmexican.com.