A northern Arizona mother whose drunk driving caused a rollover crash that killed her 14-year-old son is heading to federal prison for more than four years, the FBI Phoenix Division said Thursday. The sentence closes a federal case tied to a Dec. 10, 2021, highway rollover on Navajo Nation land that left one child dead.
Marian Marsha Josytewa, 40, of Polacca, was found guilty by a federal jury on Aug. 13, 2025, of involuntary manslaughter, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, two counts of child abuse and driving under the influence, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona. The verdict followed a six-day trial in Phoenix, and court records list the case as CR-24-08083-PCT-SPL. Sentencing had previously been set for Nov. 3, 2025, after the jury’s decision.
How the Crash Unfolded
As reported by AZFamily, prosecutors said Josytewa had several beers before picking up her two children in Flagstaff on Dec. 10, 2021, and driving back toward the Hopi homeland. During the trip, her vehicle rolled, one son was ejected from the car and died at the scene, and a crime lab later measured her blood alcohol concentration at 0.113, the outlet reported.
Investigation and Sentence
The FBI Phoenix Division said on X that its Flagstaff office worked with the Navajo Police Department to investigate the crash, with help from state and county agencies. After charges were filed against Josytewa, the case moved through federal court in Phoenix, and the recent FBI post publicly confirmed that she was sentenced to more than four years in prison.
Legal Implications
Prosecutors previously noted that involuntary manslaughter under federal law carries a maximum sentence of eight years and that assault resulting in serious bodily injury can bring up to 10 years, along with potential fines and supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona. The FBI’s announcement described Josytewa’s punishment only as “more than four years,” marking the penalty phase in the multi-count federal case.
Hoodline previously reported on the jury’s guilty verdict in August 2025, which laid out the charges and the crash timeline. The new sentence closes a long-running federal prosecution tied to the December 2021 collision, and the official case record remains filed under CR-24-08083-PCT-SPL.
