A state District Court judge sentenced a 25-year-old Santa Fe man with a violent past to five years in prison Friday for a harrowing, high-speed road rage incident a year ago.

Martin Flores apologized to the two victims of his apparently out-of-control, drunken rage — who were injured both physically and psychologically by the incident — and told Judge Michael Vigil he would work on his anger issues identified in a psychological exam.

"If you don't deal with it," the judge warned, "you're going to come out (of prison) and kill somebody."

The incident occurred Oct. 19, 2008, when a 58-year-old man and his 51-year-old female partner attempted to pass Flores' car, which was parked beside the dirt road leading out of Diablo Canyon, the man said Friday. As the man passed, Flores drove from the side of the road and nearly T-boned the man's car, he said.

The man, who was driving, said he raised his hands in the air, as if to say, "What are you doing?" However, a shirtless Flores began gesturing wildly and angrily, so the man said he decided to get out of there.

Flores proceeded to chase the victims for the next 40 minutes at speeds up to 100 mph from Diablo Canyon and down N.M. 599 until the man crashed his car into a wall, according to the man and prosecutor Yvonne Chicoine.

At that point, Flores "continued this horrifying nightmare by physically attacking us," the man said.

According to a witness statement, Flores and his girlfriend, Crystal Sandoval, immediately jumped out of their car after the crash and dragged the man and woman out of the car and began beating them. The man said Flores grabbed him by the neck and pulled him out of the car while repeatedly punching him.

The woman said Sandoval also was tugging on her partner's collar, so she went to his aid and Sandoval punched her in the face. The police report characterized Flores as "extremely belligerent" and smelling of alcohol after the crash.

"I feel fortunate to be alive to talk to you today," the woman told Judge Vigil.

To top it off, Flores' 4-year-old son was in the back seat of his car during the entire incident.

The woman suffered a broken leg, which led to the dissolution of her construction business and liquidation of her finances just as her 18-year-old son was about to go off to college. She said in court that she takes medication for anxiety, depression and constant pain.

"This will plague me for years to come," she said.

The man said he also suffered injuries. He estimated that each has spent about $15,000 on medical bills.

It was "a terrorizing, life-altering moment for us," he said.

Flores was previously convicted of assault with intent to commit third-degree rape in April 2005 and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in December 2002. Flores also told a psychiatrist that he started smoking marijuana at 14, drinking alcohol at 15 and sniffing cocaine at 17, Vigil said. He also sniffed gasoline for a period of time, resulting in brain damage that caused him to be "low functioning," the judge said.

"The time for treatment might have been during some of these juvenile violations," Vigil said. "But here we are on your (latest) felony and you're still hurting people, and that's not acceptable."

Flores faced a maximum of eight years in prison after pleading guilty in August to child abuse, causing an accident involving damage, battery, driving while intoxicated and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Vigil sentenced him to five years, followed by three years on probation.

Charges of battery, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia were filed in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court against Sandoval — Flores' girlfriend — though the charges were dropped in February, according to online court records.

The victimsaid after the sentencing he hopes Flores receives the treatment he needs in prison.

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