Albuquerque Road Rage: Second Driver Charged, First Seeks Bail

One truck driver sat in a cell for nearly a month before police finally identified the second party in a viral Albuquerque road rage fight. The delay stemmed from a missing license plate on the back bumper of the vehicle, a detail that kept the driver anonymous in public records for days. Jenipher Lewis was arrested two days after the incident and charged with aggravated assault and child abuse because her children were in the back seat. She remains in jail as her attorneys press for her release.

The confrontation is now a two-sided criminal case. Prosecutors charged Robert Hagen, the truck driver, with aggravated battery, criminal damage to property, and leaving the scene of a crash. Hagen first came forward with his attorney a week after the incident and provided a recorded statement to police. In that account, he stated that Lewis broke his window. He said he accelerated to try to obtain her license plate information, then claimed she brake checked him, causing him to rear-end her vehicle. Hagen told investigators he left the scene because he feared for his safety.

Public defender Travis Wagman represents Lewis. He noted that the viral video captured only a specific moment, creating a one-sided narrative that excluded the other individual involved. Wagman stated, “It really only captured this moment in time, kind of excluding this other individual who’s now been charged, giving us just a one-sided view on a two-sided story.” The legal team argues that the new charges against Hagen demonstrate that the initial assessment of the incident was incomplete.

Police initially released Hagen and treated him as the victim. That status changed on Oct. 19 when a special investigator took over the case. Wagman described the shift as a second look at the same evidence. He said, “It was a second look more than anything else where they saw again the same evidence and realized that they had made a mistake and they needed to move forward on this.” The special investigator’s review led to the formal filing of charges against the truck driver.

Hagen’s attorneys have filed a request to drop the charges against their client. They argue that police previously indicated Hagen would not face prosecution because he was considered the victim in the collision. The legal dispute now hinges on whether the evidence supports both drivers’ actions as criminal. Lewis’s team hopes the new charges will help secure her release from custody.

The case highlights the complexities of identifying parties in traffic disputes when vehicle information is obscured. The missing rear license plate on Hagen’s truck delayed his identification and subsequent charging. Lewis’s attorneys continue to argue that the full context of the incident favors her position. The court will now consider the motions filed by both sides as the investigation concludes.