RIO RANCHO, N.M. – A Rio Rancho family is saying goodbye to New Mexico after a road rage incident sent a woman to the hospital.

KOB 4 sat down with the family and learned when our state’s justice system let them down, the U.S. Air Force stepped in to keep them safe.

“New Mexico is a beautiful place with so much potential, and if we could just fix the justice system and the crime that we’re having, it could be one of the greatest states, honestly,” said Katrina Mitchell. 

Katrina and Gregory Mitchell are packing up their Rio Rancho home much sooner than they expected.

“I just got over my PTSD from the military not too long ago, and then my first thought was I had to do it all over again,” said Katrina. 

Katrina was driving down Unser last April when she says there was a merge incident with a Mustang and Subaru, and things got heated.

“The passenger had stuck his head out and started them flipping me off too, and I was like, is it me?” Katrina said.

It reached a boiling point when they all stopped at a red light.

“She starts getting out of her car. I was like, ‘Oh no,’ because I have my daughter and my mom in there. And so I was able to swerve around,” said Katrina. 

That’s when the teen driver in the Mustang walks up, and according to police documents, punches Katrina’s car.

According to court documents, Rio Rancho police say Katrina got out of her car and hit him before the brawl erupted. However, Mitchell says she never hit the teen.

“At that moment, all I could feel was just getting hit in the head. It feels like I couldn’t move my hands,” said Katrina. 

She says the beating only stopped after a bystander pulled out his concealed carry weapon, allowing Katrina to escape to a nearby hospital.

“I had a concussion. I couldn’t open both of my eyes, they were basically swollen shut,” Katrina said. 

Rio Rancho police eventually filed charges against Katrina, Krystal Baca, and the teen driver.

The teen was found guilty in juvenile court. Katrina took a plea deal but no jail time for anyone.

“Everyone got downgraded from felonies to misdemeanors, nothing more than really probation,” said Gregory. “They also wanted us to have a, I can’t remember, like a  reconciliation, where we sit at a table and talk about our differences, and hey, apologize to each other. And hey, you know, sorry about that neighbor, sorry about that neighbor. And no, that was an option that wasn’t in my eyes, as what was done was unforgivable.” 

That’s where the U.S. Air Force stepped in.

“The level at which the justice system here has spectacularly failed is the reasons why, you know, the Air Force decided it was in their best interest to move us,” said Gregory. 

Gregory says the Air Force is relocating his family to California under a threatened person’s assignment, giving their family a fresh start and a chance to heal their wounds.

“We’re left with these physical and emotional scars and nothing. They just nothing happened on them. They’re just living their life,” Gregory said.  

“I always believe that if you do the right thing, pray throughout your life, just be a good person. Nothing bad will happen to you. But I think it was just naive,” said Katrina.