Another Deadly Year
©2004, Santa Fe New Mexican; reproduced with permission; further reproduction or distribution prohibitedwithout written permission from copyright holder.

Editor's note: In 2003, at least 185 people lost their lives in alcohol-related crashes on the roads of New Mexico. The deaths, as identified by the state's Traffic Safety Bureau, include drunken drivers rolling their cars on deserted highways, intoxicated pedestrians walking into busy city streets and sober passengers who are in the wrong place at the wrong time.

A special report on driving while intoxicated published by The New Mexican on Jan. 25 reported that the Sept. 10, 2003, traffic accident that killed 25-year-old Bernardino J. Padilla in Santa Fe was alcohol related. The state's Traffic Safety Bureau said police have determined that alcohol did not play a role in the crash, and Padilla had no alcohol in his system at the time. The list of all 2003 alcohol-related traffic fatalities that The New Mexican published was based on statistics provided by the bureau. The New Mexican was informed Tuesday that Padilla's death should not have been included in those statistics.

Drinking and driving on New Mexico roads claimed 185 lives in 2003. The bureau says 25 traffic fatalities from 2003 can't be classified as alcohol-related until toxicology reports are returned from the state Office of the Medical Investigator. The bureau's director predicts as many as 10 of those deaths will be added to the 2003 death toll.

This list was compiled by New Mexican reporters who reviewed a combination of police reports, obituaries, newspaper and witness accounts and other available resources.

In some of the deaths, alcohol was an obvious factor. In others, police didn't provide blood-alcohol-content figures or any explanation of why they determined an accident involved alcohol. The manners of these deaths vary, but there is one common denominator: Alcohol was involved in one way or another.

01/01/03 Lawrence P. Jaramillo, 22, Socorro. Jaramillo and his girlfriend, Krystal Baca, were driving home from a New Year's Eve party at a friend's house in Jaramillo's 2001 Chevrolet pickup. Traveling north on Interstate 25 between Socorro and Albuquerque, Jaramillo apparently lost control of the truck, and it left the road. He and Baca were ejected. Baca suffered minor injuries. Jaramillo died at the scene; his blood-alcohol content (BAC) was .029.

01/05/03 John Cordova, 33, Taos. Taos sheriff's investigators say Cordova apparently drove his 1999 Pontiac sedan off N.M. 240 about one mile west of N.M. 68 around 11 p.m. Police say he was thrown from his car as it rolled and was pinned underneath. Cordova was not wearing a seat belt. His BAC was .138.

01/07/03 Danny Dewey Milton, 36, Santa Fe. Bernard Little, 20, was driving a Ford Escort along U.S. 84/285. While trying to pass a tractor trailer, he saw Milton walking across the road just ahead. Little tried—but failed—to avoid hitting Milton, who died at the scene. Little told police he had taken Benadryl before the accident for a cold. Milton's BAC was .161.

01/09/03 Starla Fowler, 35, of Albuquerque. Fowler's Jeep sailed 80 feet off a dirt road in Albuquerque and crashed into the front yard of a home on Harrier Avenue NW. The vehicle flipped and hit front- porch pillars. Fowler was found beneath the Jeep but could not be resuscitated. Her white terrier found nearby also died. Fowler, who drank wine at a friend's home before getting in her Jeep, had a BAC of .204.

01/10/03 Marc Hulgan, 43, Albuquerque. Hulgan told police he pulled his Ford pickup in front of another vehicle on San Pedro Road in Albuquerque before his pickup overturned. Police cited Hulgan with failure to yield and no proof of insurance, but he later died of his injuries. His BAC was .08.

01/10/03 Ross Jameson, 25. Jameson and a passenger were driving north on I-25 near Belen when their pickup slid sideways, flipped and landed on its top. After rescuers freed the passenger from her seat belt, she was taken to University Hospital with head and body injuries. A medical investigator pronounced Jameson dead at the scene; his BAC was .152. Officers found crushed beer cans in the wreckage.

01/11/03 David M. Caballero, 20, Las Cruces. Caballero was headed east on Interstate 10 around 11:15 a.m. when he tried to pass a pickup and a tractor-trailer. He lost control of his car, and it rolled over. A witness told police Caballero was driving fast and erratically. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His BAC was .137.

01/20/03 Marcus Chalan, 19, Cochit Pueblo. Cochit Tribal Court clerk Malanie Calabaza withheld information on the crash, citing tribal policy. Traffic Safety Bureau information indicates Chalan was driving a vehicle that rolled over. No BAC was provided.

01/20/03 Robb Nelson, 34, Albuquerque. A Bernalillo County sheriff's deputy patrolling Central Avenue in Albuquerque at 3 a.m. saw a body lying near a 10-speed bicycle and a bread-delivery truck with a damaged headlight and cracked windshield pulling onto Central. Truck driver Gregory Lucero, 34, said he thought he struck an animal. Nelson's BAC was .278.

01/23/03 Galen Hughte, 27, Zuni Pueblo; Royce Lahala, 38, Zuni Pueblo. Zuni Gov. Arlen P. Quetawki said two people died on this date but would not name them. Traffic Safety Bureau statistics say only that Hughte and Lahala died on N.M. 53 at 12:14 p.m.

01/23/03 Jim Ortiz, 43, San Juan County. The headlights of Ortiz's Jeep were off the night he crossed the path of a tractor-trailer on U.S. 550 in San Juan County. Ortiz suffered a head injury and the rear of his Jeep was crushed. Ortiz smelled of alcohol and was unconscious when found; his injuries were fatal. Beer cans were strewn throughout the area. Ortiz's BAC was .334.

01/29/03 Bernadine Joe, 20; Devon Henry, 2. Joe was breast- feeding her infant son when she collided with another car on Navajo Route 36 near Fruitland. Navajo police would not reveal how alcohol was involved in the crash, but the Traffic Safety Bureau classified it as alcohol-related. Three others were seriously injured.

01/31/03 Anthony C. Haynes, 33, Hobbs. Dale Mellenbruch was driving in the middle lane of U.S. 62/180, preparing to turn right, when he hit Haynes, a pedestrian. Haynes died at the scene, and police concluded he had been walking in the middle of the highway. His BAC was .141.

02/01/03 Dawniel R. Blanchard, 54, Socorro County. Blanchard was driving south on Escobar Road around 8:25 p.m. with her husband, Tarry Golden, and passenger Daniel Noe when she lost control of the pickup. The occupants were thrown from the rolling truck. Blanchard died at the scene. Golden told authorities he had been drinking and arguing with his wife before the accident. Many beer cans were found at the scene.

02/03/03 Bryan Roberts, 43. The Mesilla Park resident died of chest injuries in a single-car accident. He was driving east on Interstate 10 in Dona Ana County when he veered into the median and hit a cement pillar supporting an overpass. His BAC was .019.

02/03/03 Joseph R. Melendez, 41, Albuquerque. At 4:30 a.m., Melendez lost control of his Dodge pickup on I-25 in Santa Fe County, striking a tree in the median and rolling. Melendez was ejected; his BAC was .278. A tequila bottle, three-fourths empty, was found under the pickup's seat.

02/04/03 Scott Bringle, 26, Rio Rancho; Harbans Singh Deol, 31, Abbottsford, British Columbia. An officer saw smoke billowing from a crash site on Interstate 40 outside Tucumcari. Witnesses said a fireball formed after Deol's tractor-trailer crossed the median and hit Bringle's oncoming tractor-trailer. Both drivers died, and Deol's passenger, 30-year-old Jagjit Singh Gill, suffered chest injuries. Bringle's BAC was .021 BAC.

02/05/03 Dustin Bolen, 23, Rio Rancho. Bolen had a .121 BAC when he was killed by a car near Odell Court and Sandy Loop in Rio Rancho around 10:30 p.m.

02/05/03 Aquilar Cruz, 38; Gerald Pacheco, 38; Warren Townsend, 39. Multiple attempts to obtain details about this crash from Navajo police were unsuccessful. Traffic Safety Burea records show Townsend was driving a vehicle and had a BAC of .152. The three died in a crash somewhere on San Felipe Pueblo.

02/08/03 Joey Lee, 31. Police say Lee walked onto I-40 about 20 miles east of Grants into the path of a tractor-trailer traveling about 75 mph. The truck driver said his side mirror and windshield struck Lee, and a second vehicle drove over him. Police found scattered body tissue and no skid marks as they worked to identify Lee, whose BAC was .238.

02/11/03 Russell Jones, 49. Traffic Safety Bureau records show Jones had a BAC of .201 when the car he was driving overturned on Mentmore Road in McKinley County. Attempts to learn more from Picuris Pueblo about this crash were unsuccessful.

02/13/03 Bessie Belin, 66, Shiprock. Belin died nine days after the San Juan Sheriff's Department said she caused a head-on crash at 6:40 p.m. on Pinon Hills Boulevard in Farmington. Belin and her passenger were trapped in her Chevy pickup, where officers found a nearly empty pint of Schnapps. Before dying, Belin was charged with aggravated DWI, two counts of causing great bodily injury, driving with an open container and driving in an improper lane.

02/16/03 Isaiah Carrillo, 14, Carlsbad; Alfredo Carrillo, 12, Carlsbad. The driver, 18-year-old Jonathan Garcia, said he had consumed two 24-ounce bottles of malt liquor by the time he sped through the stop sign at County Road 646 and State Road 524 in Eddy County. Two of his five passengers died and three were injured when the Hyundai sedan hit a pecan tree. A 10-year-old boy suffered massive head trauma. A female passenger recalled nothing except telling the unlicensed Garcia to slow down just before the crash.

02/21/03 Lori Lujan, 32, San Juan Pueblo. Lujan left Ohkay Casino and Resort and walked toward the pueblo down S.R. 68, where she was struck about 2:10 a.m. by a Honda sedan driven by 17-year-old Ernest Rodriguez, an unlicensed driver. Lujan had a .281 BAC.

02/22/03 Geraldine V. Rodriguez, 38, Santa Fe. Rodriguez and her boyfriend had argued over dinner in Albuquerque when she asked him to take her home to Santa Fe. After she tried to jump from the moving vehicle, the boyfriend pulled over on I-25 in Bernalillo, his brother said. Rodriguez walked across both northbound lanes but was hit by a vehicle as she tried to return, the brother said. Her BAC was .001.

02/22/03 Frank Davis Jr., 52, Gallup. Davis was standing in the middle of the road around 6:25 p.m. near the intersection of N.M. 118 and Alfa Street when a man driving a Nissan pickup hit him. The driver was not cited. Traffic Safety Bureau statistics list Davis' BAC at .473.

02/25/03 Jose Estrada Rodriguez, 48. New Mexico State Police concluded 45-year-old Raymond Garcia of Los Lunas couldn't avoid striking Rodriguez with his Ford van after Rodriguez ran onto El Cerro Mission Road in rural Los Lunas at night. Another driver, Deborah Doyle of Belen, said, "It was only a split second when the other vehicle hit what I instantly knew was a man." Rodriguez's BAC was .368.

02/27/03 Isidro Carballo, 47, Velarde. State police couldn't pinpoint when Carballo rolled his Jeep Cherokee off Rio Arriba County Road 59 after driving friends home. The Jeep was found in 3 to 4 feet of water, and Carballo's body was found in the rear compartment. A 12-pack of Budweiser was found in the Jeep, and a Carballo relative said he had been drinking when last seen the day before.

03/05/03 Steven K. Mohn, 52, Fresno, Calif. A 5-year-old girl was heard crying when state police found a Toyota pickup on its side near I-40 in Jamestown. The girl, Layla Mohn, had suffered arm and leg injuries, and her left leg was pinned beneath a tire. Her father, Steven Mohn, died after losing control of the truck, which rolled three times. Debris from the wreck included an ice chest, two high-powered rifles and 15 to 18 cans of beer. His BAC was .216.

03/08/03 Kasey Benally, 18. Benally was walking along U.S. 666 around 9:55 p.m. when she was struck by a vehicle and killed in San Juan County. Her BAC was .233. Multiple attempts to obtain details of the crash from Navajo police were unsuccessful.

03/10/03 Cody McDaniel, 21. McDaniel died in an accident at 12:55 a.m. on Austin Street in Truth or Consequences. According to the Traffic Safety Bureau, he was driving a vehicle that struck something.

03/10/03 Jose Vargas, 21. Vargas was a front-seat passenger in a vehicle hit by another vehicle on a highway in Dona Ana County. It is unclear how alcohol was involved.

03/13/03 Mark A. Chavoya, 44, Angel Fire. Chavoya's body was found in a seat belt inside his gold Porsche after the car collided with a Kia sedan on U.S. 64 outside Angel Fire. A witness told police he saw the Porsche speeding north in the southbound lane before it crashed into the Kia and spun, flipped and rolled. It stopped upside down 420 feet from the crash site. The Kia driver and passenger were injured. An open beer can was found near the Porsche. Chavoya's BAC was .126.

03/19/03 James Griffith, 39, Anthony. Part of a Ford pickup emblem and grille were collected as evidence after Griffith, a pedestrian, was struck on Stern Drive in Las Cruces in the morning. Police arrested 20-year-old Jordan P. Davis of Las Cruces on suspicion of causing great bodily injury by motor vehicle and leaving the scene of an accident. Police Lt. Todd Gregory said Davis still had alcohol in his system several hours after the crash.

03/19/03 Joseph Olguin, 26, Bosque Farms; Gregory Wisley, 19, Los Lunas. Olguin was illegally passing a vehicle on Broadway Boulevard in his Ford car during light rain when he lost control and slid into the path of a Chevy pickup. A Bernalillo County sheriff's deputy noticed 16-ounce cans of beer nearby and the odor of alcohol emanating from the car. Olguin had a .245 BAC. His passenger, Wisley, was found on the center line; his BAC was .066.

03/26/03 William C. Myers, 29. A single-vehicle accident in La Luz in Otero County killed a construction worker. William C. Myers was driving a Chevrolet pickup south when he failed to make a curve. The truck rolled several times, killing the driver. His BAC was .129, and beer cans were found at the accident scene.

03/30/03 Julie Ann Capasso, 44. Capasso died when the pickup she was riding in overturned on I-40. Capasso's boyfriend, Dennis Jerald Brown, was driving. Brown and Capasso were pulling an empty livestock trailer when he drove off the side of the road and overcorrected, hitting the median and overturning the truck and trailer. Capasso's BAC was .161; both were wearing seat belts.

03/31/03 Rachel Duff, 96, Plains, Texas. Duff was in the front passenger seat of a car that was hit by a suspected drunken driver on N.M. 18 in Lovington. Details about the other driver were unavailable, but Traffic Safety Bureau records indicate the other vehicle caused the crash. Duff's death is classified as alcohol-related because of the other vehicle.

04/01/03 Jim Flynt, 53, Moriarty. Flynt, who wasn't wearing a seat belt, was ejected when his utility truck left I-40 along a curve in Torrance County just before 11 p.m. Medics found him unresponsive. He was flown to University Hospital in Albuquerque and later died of head and chest injuries. His BAC was .135.

04/09/03 Chanda Gutierrez, 28. Gutierrez died of massive head injuries after being thrown from the back of a motorcycle driven by Jeff Martinez, a police officer. Both Gutierrez and Martinez had been drinking before the accident on N.M. 69 in Espanola. Martinez rear-ended a car, causing it to spin 180 degrees. Witnesses say Guiterrez had not been holding onto Martinez, who was also thrown from the motorcycle; neither was wearing a helmet.

04/10/03 Paula Garcia, 54. Garcia was the driver of a vehicle that struck a fixed object in Santa Fe County at 4 a.m.

04/12/03 Alfonso Escalera Jr., 17. Escalera died after he was hit by a car driven by Donald Jones. Escalera had a BAC of .183 and apparently walked onto N.M. 185 in Las Cruces in front of Jones' car. Jones, who left the accident site, said he didn't see Escalera until after he had hit and killed him. The accident was blamed on Escalera.

04/15/03 Joseph T. Snyder, 23, Santa Fe. Snyder was traveling south on N.M. 599 in a black 2000 Honda when he lost control of the car at a bend in the road. Snyder was ejected as the car veered into a ditch and rolled four times. A tire hit Snyder, and he died at the scene. The Albuquerque man wasn't wearing a seat belt; his BAC was .255.

04/17/03 Collin D. Smith-Levin, 23, Albuquerque. Bus driver Antonio Padilla said he was following a southbound Dodge sedan on I- 25 in Socorro County when the car drove into the median and rolled seven or eight times. Smith-Levin was ejected, a female passenger was injured, and the bus driver saw another man run from the scene. Police said the crash was alcohol-related and caused by driver Theodore Apodaca's inattentiveness. An injured passenger said Apodaca had been driving after the group left an Albuquerque nightclub.

04/19/03 Vernon Willie, 36. Willie was driving his pickup along a logging road in McKinley County when he apparently lost control and the truck overturned. He had a BAC of .30 at the time of his death.

04/21/03 Aaron Justin Nevarez, 18, Santa Fe. Nevarez was driving west on Agua Fra Street with friend Manuelito Urisote, 18, when he tried to pass a car. Nevarez overcorrected to avoid an oncoming car, and his car rolled. He died days later at St. Vincent Hospital. Urioste told police the two had been drinking before the accident.

04/23/03 Jason Abeita, 17. Abeita, a pedestrian, was struck by a vehicle on I-25 in Sandoval County at 1:48 a.m. His BAC was .188.

04/30/03 Alvin T. Romero, 43; Angela C. Ruether, 23. Romero of Tucumcari was driving his Ford pickup west on N.M. 104 at 8 a.m. when he ran head-on into a Dodge pickup driven by Tucumcari resident Angela C. Ruether at a curve in the road. Romero, a rancher, and Ruether, a student, both died at the scene. Romero's pickup rolled onto its side, and rescue workers had to pull back the roof to reach him. He was not wearing a seat belt. Ruether was wearing a seat belt but was pinned in her seat by damage to the front end of her pickup. Romero's BAC was .127.

04/30/03 Davis Begaye, 19; Elvison George, 25. Two brothers and a cousin left their home in Two Grey Hills for Farmington to cruise and meet friends. Davis Begaye was driving a Ford sedan on a county road, and Elvison George and Laroy Begaye were passengers. The car hit a guardrail, flew about 50 feet and rolled several times. All three occupants were ejected. Laroy Begaye, 17, who survived chest injuries, told officers he remembered "drinking a lot of beer." Davis Begaye died at the scene from head injuries. His BAC was .325. Elvison George died at the scene of a broken neck. His BAC was .327.

05/02/03 Nikkiclas Begay, 19. Begay was the driver of a vehicle that overturned on a road in San Juan County at 3:20 p.m.

05/03/03 Jesus Talamantes, 40, Albuquerque. Talamantes was walking north on Coors Boulevard SW when a car hit him, then drove away. Talamantes' BAC was .237.

05/03/03 Eric Tennison, 41. After drinking for four hours in an Albuquerque bar, two brothers headed west on I-40. Eric Tennison was driving a Chevrolet truck, and Jay Tennison, 33, was a passenger. Neither was wearing a seat belt. Eric Tennison fell asleep about 1 a.m., and the truck rolled. Eric was ejected and died at the scene from head injuries. His BAC was .228. His brother was trapped inside and suffered internal injuries.

05/03/03 Johnny Reyes, 18. After 9 p.m., a motorist in Mesilla Park saw a speeding green-and-silver pickup with its headlights off. The truck swerved right, then left, and left the road in a cloud of dust. The truck hit railroad tracks and driver Johnny Reyes died at the scene of head injuries. His BAC was .26. A 15-year-old passenger was flown to the hospital for treatment of head injuries.

05/04/03 Andres M. Archuleta, 18, Ocate. Five hours after bringing a case of beer to a friend's house in Mora County, Archuleta rejected his friends' warnings about drunken driving and drove off. The Mora High School student was ejected from his Ford pickup as it rolled off County Road AO11 about 12:34 a.m. His BAC was .215.

05/09/03 Enrique Cuevas, 31. Cuevas died after being thrown 75 feet from his vehicle on N.M. 185. Victor Cuevas, Enrique's nephew and a passenger, told investigators he and his uncle had been drinking at a friend's house. Enrique refused to fasten his seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle. Victor was wearing a seat belt. Enrique's BAC was .342.

05/09/03 Monique Romero, 7; Kasey Romero, 7. The twins from Lemitar died after a car driven by their aunt overturned into a watery ditch near Escondida. The aunt, Patricia Hernandez, faces several charges related to the crash, including vehicular homicide, according to El Defensor Chieftain.

05/10/03 Oman Gamboa, 24, Albuquerque. Brijido Valdez was accused of fleeing a crash on Old Coors Drive, where his Mercury sedan collided with Gamboa's Kawasaki motorcycle. Gamboa's passenger, Crystal Chavez, suffered arm and leg injuries. After Valdez fled, he drove into a brick wall and was detained by witnesses until police arrived. Valdez, 45, registered a .16 BAC.

05/10/03 Mary S. Marez, 74, Albuquerque. Police officers caught Jessica Garner, 17, in a foot chase after her collision with Marez at Tower Road and 90th Street in Albuquerque. Witnesses said Garner raced through a stop sign and her Hyundai sedan collided with Marez's Dodge minivan. Marez was ejected from the van upon impact. Police said Garner "showed obvious signs of intoxication" and booked her into a juvenile detention center on suspicion of vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

05/10/03 Frank Armijo, 37. Armijo died after rear-ending a Ford van driven by Felipe Garcia where North Frontage Road crosses I-40 in Albuquerque. Garcia and his wife, Gregorita, had both been wearing seat belts and suffered minor injuries. Armijo's BAC was .172.

05/18/03 Leroy Jaquez, 51, San Juan County near Bloomfield. At 8:54 p.m., police were called to an accident on N.M. 516. Jaquez had been driving a 1995 Harley-Davidson west on the highway when his motorcycle hit one of three cows that were crossing the road. The cow flew over the motorcycle and hit Jaquez, who died at the scene. The pregnant cow also died. Jaquez's BAC was .089.

05/18/03 Michael P. Bohn, 58. Bohn, a nuclear physicist from Corrales, died when the vehicle he was driving was struck by Mark Alberto Torres, 21, on I-25. Torres was driving with four passengers, who say they were going home to El Paso from a Kappa Sigma house party. Torres smelled of alcohol. Bohn and his passenger Kristi Gordon were ejected from the vehicle; his other passenger, Katherine Lang, was wearing a seat belt.

05/21/03 Michael Mata, 24. Las Cruces police found Cybel Clark in the hospital, smelling of alcohol, after a fatal crash earlier that night. The 22-year-old Clark admitted she had driven after drinking seven or eight drinks at a bar with Mata, her fiance. After leaving the bar, Clark told police, all she remembered was racing another vehicle at speeds up to 70 mph. Mata died after Clark's Chevy Tahoe struck a fixed object on North Solano Drive.

05/23/03 Gary Sullivan, 47, Carlsbad. A witness saw a Ford Ranger on I-40 in Torrance County weave out of control, strike a guardrail and roll numerous times. The driver, Cheryll L. Lopez, 33, of Albuquerque, was hospitalized with head injuries. Sullivan, her passenger, died at the scene. His BAC was .295.

05/24/03 Patrick Fahmie, age not provided. Fahmie crashed his motorcycle into a fixed object on N.M. 522 in Taos County. His BAC was .205.

05/24/03 George Watson Star, 23. Star, a bus driver from Mescalero, died after colliding head-on with a vehicle driven by Joseph Chavez on U.S. 70. Star was heading west on U.S. 70 when he drove onto the right shoulder, overcorrected and crossed the westbound lanes, the median and into the eastbound lanes. He collided with Chavez, who was traveling east in the right lane. Star had a BAC of .24 and had not been wearing a seat belt. Chavez and his two passengers had been wearing seat belts.

05/25/03 Mischa Munson, 18, Santa Fe. Munson was driving north in the southbound lane of N.M. 14 at 3:37 a.m. when she crashed her silver 1989 Volvo into a 1989 Chevrolet pickup driven by Samuel Aguirre, 20. Munson died at the scene. Aguirre broke facial bones. Both were wearing seat belts. Munson's BAC was .155.

05/27/03 Chris Fairbanks, 21, Albuquerque. Fairbanks' Yamaha motorcycle vaulted over a parked Honda Accord after it hit the car on Monte Vista NE in Albuquerque. Fairbanks, who was wearing a helmet, had lost control of the bike on a curve in the road. The bike skidded sideways and struck a curb, sending the bike into the air. "Speed was a factor in the accident," police said. Fairbanks, who died at the scene of massive injuries, had a BAC of .197.

05/30/03 Vernon Pinto, 35. Driver Brent James, 20, and two railroad co-workers were headed home from work when their Chevrolet Blazer rolled over near Gallup. A cooler of beer was in the vehicle. The driver and one passenger suffered neck injuries; passenger Vernon Pinto died 26 days later. None of the men was wearing a seat belt. State police charged the driver with DWI and careless driving and turned the case over to Navajo police.

06/04/03 Benally Johnson, 52. Johnson drove his 1989 Buick sedan left of center, causing a head-on collision with Monte Barker on N.M. 602. Johnson died at the scene; open liquor bottles were found in his car. Barker, a Ramah resident, suffered chest injuries. Barker had been wearing a seat belt; Johnson had not.

06/07/03 Leon Darras, 17. Darras was a passenger in a car that struck a fixed object at 10 p.m. in Raton.

06/07/03 Moises Rivera, 20. Eric Vega, 20, of Roswell, was driving east of Roswell when he lost control on a curve. He was wearing his seat belt; four passengers were not. Three were ejected when the SUV rolled. Moises Rivera, a front-seat passenger, suffered head injuries and died at a Roswell hospital. State police cited Vega for careless driving, but the police report did not say how alcohol was involved.

06/09/03 Joseph Martinez, 43, Albuquerque. Witnesses found Martinez's body on Coors Drive in Albuquerque about 1:30 a.m. Police say Martinez was walking south wearing dark clothes when hit by a car whose driver fled. Martinez had a BAC of .247.

06/12/03 Thomas O'Neil, 41. O'Neil was riding a motorcycle that hit another vehicle at 6:32 p.m. on Barr Road in Albuquerque. His BAC was .029.

06/14/03 Leon Byron Liston, 23. Liston overturned his pickup on Route 13 in Shiprock shortly before midnight. His BAC was .371. Multiple attempts to obtain details of this crash from Navajo police were unsuccessful.

06/15/03 Adrian Paul Martin, 21. Martin was driving a car that struck another vehicle on I-25 in Bernalillo County at 9:30 p.m.

06/15/03 Gary Fay, 25. Fay died when he drove his Isuzu SUV off N.M. 371 into an embankment. Fay had apparently fallen asleep but woke up when he left the road and tried to steer back. His vehicle rolled several times before stopping more than 60 feet from the road. Fay had been wearing a seat belt; his BAC was .314.

06/16/03 Manuel A. Gonzales, 27. Gonzales died after he drove his car into a tree, then into a natural-gas line on N.M. 187. Several open containers of beer were in the front seat, and his BAC was .154.

06/20/03 Orlando Martinez, 52, Polvadera. Martinez, a lifelong resident of Polvadera, rolled his 1983 Ford F-150 while driving east on U.S. 60, west of Socorro. The truck fell 70 feet over a cliff. Martinez had a BAC of .195.

06/20/03 Antonio Torres, 40, Albuquerque. Witnesses say Torres sped through a red light on an I-25 frontage road near Comanche Road on his Harley-Davidson just before 11:30 p.m. He lost control, flew from his motorcycle and struck a road sign, which severed his leg. He died at the scene. His BAC was .273.

06/21/03 Leonard Trujillo, 40, Avondale, Ariz.; Tammy Ann Vaught, 36, Avondale, Ariz. A Valencia County sheriff's deputy found Trujillo lying on N.M. 116 and Vaught lying beside it. Witnesses said the two were fighting when Trujillo lay down on the road. Vaught was trying to move him when both were hit and killed by a truck, whose driver was sober. Trujillo had a BAC of .13; Vaught's BAC was .155.

06/21/03 Douglas G. Miller, 45, Los Lunas. The lights on Miller's motorcycle were off and he had consumed alcohol before pulling in front of a Dodge sedan and crashing on N.M. 314 in Valencia County. He was flown to University Hospital, where he died. His BAC was .032.

06/25/03 David Brown, 50. Brown overturned the pickup he was driving on N.M. 547 in Cibola County. No more details about the crash are available.

06/26/03 Pedro Lucero, 48. Lucero was struck by a vehicle on Grand Avenue in Las Vegas at 9:37 p.m.

06/28/03 Rocia Martinez, 29, Albuquerque. Martinez was pulling onto Unser Boulevard from I-40 in Albuquerque when her Nissan sedan collided with a Jeep driven by Robert Abeyta Jr., 41. Abeyta told police Martinez ran a red light, but the officer smelled alcohol on Abeyta's breath and arrested him. Abeyta's license had been revoked for an earlier DWI.

07/04/03 Ernestine Askan, 21. Multiple attempts to get information about this crash from Navajo police were unsuccessful. Traffic Safety Bureau records show Askan was in a crash at 6:40 a.m. in San Juan County. The vehicle she was driving overturned; her BAC was .052.

07/04/03 Justin Todd "Faustus" Taylor, 35, Clayton. Taylor and Ginger Chapman, 28, were eastbound on N.M. 56 when Taylor's Ford truck rolled several times, ejecting both. Taylor and Chapman had been at the County Tavern bar in Clayton before the accident. It wasn't clear who was driving because Chapman couldn't remember what happened. Taylor's BAC was .122.

07/04/03 Bobbie Sandoval, 39, Clovis. Sandoval was standing between two cars as police chased a driver through Clovis. The driver's car sideswiped or crashed into six other cars before the sixth car struck Sandoval. She died at a hospital. The driver, Joe Martinez Jr., 32, of Clovis was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of an injury accident and leaving the scene of a property-damage accident.

07/09/03 Irene C. Newitt, 75, Farmington. Newitt was leaving a hit- and-run crash in Farmington when she drove her Chevrolet sport-utility vehicle into the oncoming lane of Butler Street and collided with a Chevrolet pickup driven by 58-year-old Bernice Henry, who suffered arm and leg injuries. A doctor said a heart attack might have caused Newitt to lose control of her SUV, but her BAC was .24.

07/11/03 Eric Garcia, 19, Albuquerque. Albuquerque police saw a "decent amount of money" and broken beer bottles scattered across Pan American Freeway at the site of a crash between a Honda sedan and a Peterbilt tractor-trailer. Garcia and a fellow passenger in the Honda, which ran a red light just before 9:30 p.m., were ejected. Police said the car was stolen and had been used in a robbery.

07/13/03 Pamela Randles, 41, Oklahoma City; Imogene C. Normand, 85, Oklahoma City. When the right rear tire of the 1999 Ford van driven by Randles blew out on I-40 in McKinley County, the van rolled. Neither victim was wearing a seat belt. Randles had a BAC of .014 and Nomand's BAC was .032.

07/14/03 Jack P. Rauch, 43, Carlsbad. State police surmised Rauch was ejected after losing control of his Ford pickup around 10 p.m. on U.S. 62/180. The pickup then rolled. A crushed can of beer was found near Rauch and another was near his truck.

07/14/03 Stephanie Vicenti, 41. Attempts to obtain information on this crash from Jicarilla Apache officials were unsuccessful. Traffic Safety Bureau reports indicate she was a front-seat passenger in a car that overturned on Hank Drive in Dulce.

07/15/03 Louie Garcia, 54, Estancia. In a parking lot near N.M. 131 in Manzano, Garcia was run over twice by a pickup truck driven by Thomas Padilla, 42, of Manzano. Witness Kevin Tierney said the two had been drinking and were about to leave when Garcia fell from the truck. "(Padilla) didn't realize the guy had fallen out," Tierney said.

07/18/03 Brian Benally, 35, Windowrock, Ariz. Gallup police surmise Benally was struck by a large truck while walking on I-40 at night. Police suspect the driver didn't realize he had hit someone. Benally's BAC was .249.

07/18/03 Joe F. Yazzie, 67. Yazzie died when the car he was in overturned in McKinley County. Yazzie's BAC was .138. Multiple attempts to obtain more details of the crash from Navajo police were unsuccessful.

07/19/03 Wallace Begay, 51. Begay was struck by a vehicle on Interstate 40 in McKinley County at 9:48 p.m.

07/20/03 Antonio Talavera Garza, 57, Hobbs. Manuel Martinez III, 34, of Seminole, Texas, drove a Chevrolet pickup into a N.M. 132 ditch in Lea County at "full speed" before the truck rolled several times, a witness said. Garza, a passenger who wasn't wearing a seat belt, was found beneath the truck. Martinez asked for a knife to free himself from his seat belt, then tried to flee on foot before witnesses tackled him and an off-duty Wal-Mart security guard handcuffed him. Martinez later admitted to drinking "three to four beers." His BAC was .18.

07/24/03 Ray Randy Wendell, 36. Wendell overturned the pickup he was driving on Navajo Route 34 in San Juan County. Multiple attempts to get information on this crash from Navajo Police were unsuccessful.

07/27/03 Joseph Vigil, 49, Albuquerque; Manuel Ruiz, 28, Albuquerque. Vigil, Albuquerque Public Schools lead superintendent, was a passenger in his Lexus sedan when it left N.M. 41 south of Moriarty and rolled several times. He and Ruiz were ejected, and Vigil was pinned beneath the car. The suspected driver, 34-year-old Joe Gallegos, suffered minor injuries. Vigil had a BAC of .087. Ruiz died of his injuries Aug. 9.

07/29/03 Christoval M. Alcorta III, 19. Alcorta died after being thrown more than 120 feet when his 2000 Mitsubishi sedan overturned on N.M. 483 near Lovington. Alcorta drove off the road into a pasture and suffered massive head injuries after he was ejected from the car. Alcorta did not have a driver's license and wasn't wearing a seat belt. His BAC was .203.
July 30 Stephen M. Escobar, 28, Albuquerque. Police say Escobar was driving his 1999 Saturn 99 mph in a 75-mph speed zone on I-25 near Algadones when a Sandoval County sheriff's deputy tried to stop him. The fast pursuit was joined by Santa Fe County sheriff's deputies when Escobar crossed the county line. He swerved to the right shoulder, overcorrected and rolled the car. He was ejected and died at the hospital. Escobar had a BAC of .213.

07/30/03 Derek Levque, 21. Levque was in a car that rolled in Taos County at 8:45 a.m. His BAC was .257.

07/31/03 Kenneth Long, 41; Angela Ovecka, 23. Ovecka was heading west on I-40 when Long, who was driving east on I-40, crossed the median and collided head-on with Ovecka. Both drivers died at the scene from head injuries and both were trapped in their vehicles. Officers found several open beer cans under the driver's seat of Long's vehicle.

08/01/03 George F. Stephan, 55. Stephan was driving a 2000 Traxter all-terrain vehicle on Hondale Road near Deming when he lost control of the ATV. It overturned, throwing Stephan from the driver's seat. An open can of beer was found at the scene, and three unopened cans were in the front ATV compartment. Stephan was not wearing a restraint.

08/03/03 LeRoy John Martinez, 32. Martinez was riding a motorcycle that struck a fixed object in La Cueva at 12:04 a.m.

08/03/03 Dawn Urioste, 32, Tucumcari. State police arrived at N.M. 104 in rural San Miguel County to find injured people scattered in a nearby field. The driver, 18-year-old Jesus A. Sena, said he fell asleep about 5:30 a.m. driving 70 mph with four passengers, including Urioste. He had been drinking, and the group was on its way to the Conchas Dam for more partying.

08/03/03 Randy S. Shell, 34, Huntington Beach, Calif. After stopping in Gallup for repairs to his 1971 Chevrolet sedan, Shell drove east on N.M. 54 in Quay County. His car crossed into the westbound lane and struck an embankment. Shell wasn't wearing a seat belt and was thrown 61 feet from his car. Officers suspect he had fallen asleep. His BAC was .103.

08/05/03 Angel Martinez, 2 weeks. Heriberto Martinez, Ruth Martinez and their 2-week-old boy, Angel, were headed west on U.S. 70 when their car was rear-ended by Brian Moshier's tractor-trailer. Angel, who was buckled in an infant car seat, was thrown from the vehicle, suffering fatal head injuries. Moshier, who had been drinking in his truck, was charged with vehicular homicide, accident involving death and tampering with evidence for throwing bottles from the truck. The Martinezes and Moshier suffered minor injuries; all had been wearing seat belts.

08/08/03 Kurt Bradshaw, 46, Albuquerque. Riding a motorcycle on I- 25 toward I-40, Bradshaw was entering a curve when he lost control and struck a retaining wall just before 11:30 p.m. Bradshaw flew over the wall and fell 20 feet to his death. He had a .205 BAC.

08/08/03 Praxedes Gonzales, 29; Joseph Maes, 35, of Cleveland, Ohio. Praxedes Gonzalez was driving to Las Vegas, N.M., southbound on N.M. 518 when he swerved into oncoming traffic, killing himself and Joseph Maes, who was driving north. Gonzalez's 1992 Dodge car burst into flames beside the road. He had no driver's license, was not wearing a seat belt and had a BAC of .277. Maes was wearing a seat belt. Both died at the scene.

08/12/03 Al Steven C'de Baca, 39. C'de Baca was driving a car that collided with another vehicle on I-25 in Sandoval County.

08/13/03 Bonnie Kelly, 35. Kelly was driving a car that overturned on Forest Road 23B in Catron at 5:12 p.m.

08/17/03 Irma Minjares, 31, Boulder, Colo. Minjares was driving a vehicle that overturned on I-25 in Valencia County at 7 a.m. A witness said Minjares' Jeep sport-utility vehicle was swerving before she drifted off the road. She overcorrected her steering, and the vehicle rolled. A medical investigator detected alcohol on Minjares.

08/17/03 Jesse Pino, Bosque; Ryan Gonzales, 17, Belen. Pino was riding his Yamaha motorcycle, and Gonzales was his passenger, when the motorcycle rear-ended a Harley Davidson motorcycle on I-25 in Valencia County. Pino died immediately and Gonzales died Aug. 31. Neither teen was wearing a helmet. The Harley rider, Michael Zamora of Albuquerque, said he drank 6 ounces of beer about an hour before riding, and he agreed to have his blood tested for alcohol.

08/21/03 Genaro Mejia Garcia, 41. Two men who saw an overturned car in an irrigation canal near N.M. 87 south of Truth or Consequences pulled a dead man from the car. The man was Genaro Mejia Garcia, a laborer on a nearby farm. Police surmised Garcia was driving too fast, lost control of the car and hit the brakes before the car flipped into the canal. Garcia was not wearing a seat belt. Beer bottles were found in the car.

08/23/03 Ruby Muzzie, 26, Chinle, Ariz. Lawrence J. Brieno, 22, of Gamerco, said he was driving to Arizona after stopping for drinks at the Sagebrush Bar on N.M. 264 in McKinley County. He lost control of his car in the rain, swerved across the median and struck an oncoming van carrying five people. Muzzie, a passenger in Brieno's Chevrolet pickup, died, and 3-year-old Brandon Brieno was injured. The five people in the van all suffered injuries. Alcohol containers were found in Brieno's truck, and he was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide, child abuse and five counts of causing great bodily injury.

09/01/03 Meryl Rae Kie, 23. Sgt. Billy Emanual of the Laguna Pueblo Police Department said information about the crash would not be released. Traffic Safety Bureau information on the crash indicates Kie was the driver of a car that overturned somewhere on the pueblo and died as a result. Kie's BAC was .171.

09/03/03 Albertano C'de Baca, 27, Santa Fe. Nick Mares, 23, of Santa Fe was charged with vehicular homicide after he lost control of a Toyota pickup while speeding along Cerrillos Road in Santa Fe, according to city police. C'de Baca, Mares' passenger, was pinned beneath the truck after it rolled several times before resting on its roof in a field. C'de Baca was flown to St. Vincent Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police reported Mares was drunk.

09/03/03 David Begay, 58. Begay, a pedestrian, was killed when hit by a vehicle in San Juan County at 2 a.m. His BAC was .23.

09/05/03 Felipe Tapia, 74, Farmington. Tapia was a passenger in a 1995 Pontiac that was apparently rear-ended by a 1993 Ford van on I- 25 in Albuquerque. The van driver, 29-year-old Rachel Chavez, continued driving and was later tracked down by a Los Lunas police officer. Tapia died of head injuries at the crash scene. Chavez was charged with DWI, leaving the scene of an accident and driving without proof of insurance. A preliminary breath test indicate she had a .18 BAC.

09/08/03 Jeffrey W. Hurley, 28. Two men went drinking after work and met some friends at a Carlsbad bar. Jeffrey W. Hurley was drunk by the time they left. He gave his friend the keys to his Ford pickup and let the friend drive home to Artesia. Hurley was asleep when his friend arrived home, and his friend tried to convince to stay the night. Hurley chose to drive home. He crashed about five miles south of Artesia about 11 p.m. in a single-vehicle accident.

09/10/03 Bernardino J. Padilla, 25, Santa Fe. Padilla was driving a Honda sedan that collided about 7:30 p.m. at Cerrillos and Beckner roads with a Jeep Cherokee driven by 54-year-old Bernadette Gurule of Santa Fe. Padilla died at the scene. Gurule was taken by ambulance to St. Vincent Hospital and later released, according to a hospital employee. The Traffic Safety Bureau indicated alcohol was involved, but it didn't elaborate.

09/11/03 John Doe. Doe, a pedestrian, had consumed alcohol before a tractor-trailer driver unsuccessfully tried to avoid hitting him just after 4 a.m. on I-40 in Cibola County, according to state police. Truck driver Daniel Craft of Akron, Ind., said he hit Doe after another tractor-trailer driver in front of him missed the pedestrian.

09/11/03 Ursula Stump, 29. Navajo police would not provide details of this crash. Traffic Safety Bureau information indicates Stump died after the car she was driving overturned in McKinley County. Her BAC was unknown.

09/19/03 Ronzell J. Holcomb, 39, Las Cruces; Charles T. Belmontez, 43, Las Cruces. An investigator surmised that Holcomb and Belmontez died after their Pontiac struck a guardrail and broke into two pieces on Shalem Colony Trail. Two beer cans exploded, and a crushed beer can was found in the console cup holder. An opened can was found between Belmontez's legs.

09/21/03 Ravul Larkin Cordova, 29, Albuquerque. Alfonso Zamora, 76, was headed south in the 1800 block of Coors Boulevard SW when he saw a man crossing the street. Zamora struck Cordova, who died at the hospital. Cordova smelled of alcohol, said police, who concluded the pedestrian hadn't yielded to traffic.

09/21/03 John Doe. The unidentified man was struck by a vehicle on Coors Boulevard in Albuquerque at 10:50 p.m.

09/23/03 Mary Velasquez, 53, Albuquerque. Kenneth Hovey, 53, said he swerved to avoid Velasquez as she crossed Central Avenue in Albuquerque at 11:59 p.m. Hovey's Ford sedan hit her anyway, and Velasquez suffered head and leg injuries. She died at University Hospital. Police called the accident alcohol-related and said Hovey hadn't consumed alcohol or drugs.

09/26/03 Julie Chavez, 26. Chavez was driving a car that overturned at Coors and Pajarito boulevards in Albuquerque at 9:40 p.m.

10/03/03 Joe G. Otero, 36, Lincoln County. Otero was driving north on U.S. 54 in a 1992 Mercury around 7:14 p.m. when his car sideswiped two cars and crashed head-on into another. Otero, trapped in the Mercury, died at the scene. No BAC was provided.

10/04/03 Linda Lopez, 43. Lopez died after causing a head-on collision with Brenda Lujan on Miller Road in Los Chavez. Linda had been drinking beer with her husband, Gilbert, earlier that evening. After an argument with him, she drove to a friend's house. Gilbert and their son went the friend's home to retrieve Lopez, but she drove away. They followed her on Miller Road until they came upon the accident. Open beer containers were found inside Lopez's car; she was not wearing a seat belt.

10/08/03 Pete Encinias, 49; Sam Corvin, 74. Encinias died on his way home from work after driving into oncoming traffic on N.M. 41. Co-workers say Encinias was drinking before leaving work. The crash killed Sam Corvin, 74, and Encinias also struck Renee Whiteside's sport-utility vehicle, seriously injuring Whiteside and her sons Robert, 15, and Joshua, 12. Several open beer cans were found inside Encinias' truck. Only Renee Whiteside was wearing a seat belt.

10/10/03 Kristopher L. Munoz, 23, Hobbs. Before dying of severe head injuries, Munoz was arrested on suspicion of DWI and careless driving. A state police officer concluded Munoz lost control of his Ford pickup on U.S. 62/180 and overcorrected, causing the truck to roll before landing back on its tires. Munoz had been at a bar before the accident, and an officer smelled alcohol on his breath. It was his third DWI charge, according to police.

10/12/03 Phoebe L. Charles, 41, Kirtland. Charles' body was found facedown near the center line of Old Kirtland Highway in Farmington. Walking in dark clothes before dawn, Charles was struck by a Nissan pickup driven by Erma J. Peshlakai, 19, of Fruitland, who had just left work. Charles' daughter told police her mother had been at the Anasazi Inn the night before. A medical investigator noted Charles had a strong smell of liquor. Peshlakai was arrested for driving without a license, which had been revoked because of a DWI, and for driving without insurance.

10/18/03 Kawauna Noelle Begaye, 17, Sheepsprings. Begaye died on an unspecified highway near Sheepsprings in San Juan County. Traffic Safety Bureau statistics indicate she had a BAC of .135. Multiple attempts to get information on this crash from Navajo police were unsuccessful.

10/18/03 Phillip R. Hines, 45; Gail R. Hines, 46. Phillip R. Hines, an FBI agent, and his passenger Gail R. Hines, died when their motorcycle hit a car driven by Jesse J. Cordova. Witnesses say the Hines had been looking at trees and swerved into Cordova's car. Cordova admitted he drank a beer before driving, but his BAC was substantially below the legal limit and he was not cited. An autopsy showed Hines had a BAC of .038. Cordova and passenger Susie L. Cordova had been wearing seat belts. The Hines had been wearing helmets.

10/22/03 Joe Durwood, 18, Albuquerque. The West Mesa High School junior was driving fast at 1 p.m. on Unser Boulevard when he lost control of his white Ford Mustang, which rolled. His BAC was .147.

10/26/03 Jimmy Blackburn, 21, Silver City. Miranda Lucero, an unlicensed driver, and three passengers were headed from a party to a home on U.S. 180 in Grant County when Lucero lost control of the truck a little after 1 a.m. The truck rolled, and Blackburn, a backseat passenger, died of head injuries. Alcoholic beverages were found next to the truck and amid wreckage. Lucero admitted to drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana.

10/31/03 Daniel McGhin, 17, Albuquerque. McGhin, who held a provisional driver's license, was speeding in a Mercury sport- utility vehicle along Wyoming Boulevard in Albuquerque and zigzagging between lanes when he lost control about 6:15 p.m. The SUV hit a curb and rolled, skidding onto a bike path. McGhin was ejected and his three passengers were injured.

10/31/03 Steven Quintana, 14. Quintana, a passenger in Antonio Quintana-Pena's car, died when Quintana-Pena ran a stop sign and hit Joe Belmontes' police car on Fairview Road in Espanola. Quintana-Pena's other passengers—Christina Castaneda, 15; Jose Castaneda, 16; and Isaac Gutierrez, 15—either suffered minor injuries or escaped injury. Quintana-Pena wasn't hurt. All had been drinking whiskey in the vehicle, and Quintana-Pena had consumed 40 ounces of beer as well. He ran from the accident scene. No one in Quintana-Pena's car had been wearing a seat belt. Belmontes had been wearing a seat belt and suffered minor injuries.

11/01/03 Chris M. Villegas, 20. Villegas died after his pickup truck rolled several times on N.M. 185. Villegas' passenger, Juan Garcia, 15, said Villegas had been drinking beer before they got in the truck. Villegas lost control when he tried to avoid an animal in the road, and the truck overturned. Several open beer cans were found in the truck. Villegas was not wearing a seat belt. Garcia wore a seat belt and suffered minor injuries.

11/01/03 Diana Ortiz, 49. Sgt. Billy Emanual of the Laguna Pueblo Police Department would not release crash information. Traffic Safety Bureau information indicates Ortiz was a passenger in a car that was hit by another vehicle on N.M. 121 and died as a result. She was not intoxicated at the time.

11/01/03 Raymundo Lascano Jr., 37. Lascano died when he crashed into a tractor-trailer driven by Joe Hernandez of Anthony, N.M. Hernandez said he was crossing the intersection of Joy Drive and N.M. 478 in Anthony when Lascano ran the stop sign and hit his truck. Lascano's headlights were out, and he was not wearing a seat belt. He died after struggling to get out of his vehicle. Beer cans were found at the scene of the accident.

11/02/03 James Histia, 33. Histia died when he was hit by a car after running into traffic on I-40. Histia had been drinking before driving his pickup truck into an embankment on N.M. 124. Failing to free the truck, he tried to cross the highway on foot and was struck by Bruce Madden. Madden and passengers Susan Ostile and Erin Madden, 13, had been wearing seat belts and were uninjured.

11/06/03 Tyrell Waybourn, 16, Aztec. Waybourn had a broken neck and his body was crushed when an officer tried to pull it from a mangled Ford pickup on San Juan County Road 3500. He died after the pickup driven by his friend, 16-year-old Justin Barker, collided with a Chevrolet van driven by 17-year-old Chantel Johnson of Farmington. Police said Johnson, who had five passengers, had an expired driving permit and was believed to be under the influence of alcohol. She was charged with vehicular homicide, child abuse and other traffic violations.

11/11/03 Keith R. Bostow, 24, Rio Rancho; Cora Caldwell, 26, Santa Fe. Bostow was driving a Toyota pickup on I-40 east through Grants about 3:46 p.m. when the vehicle swerved a few times and flipped into the median, where it rolled. He and Caldwell weren't wearing seat belts and were ejected. They died of head injuries. The debris trail included crushed beer cans and a shattered bottle of vodka. State police say alcohol contributed to the accident.

11/12/03 Milton Begay, 40, Shiprock. A GMC truck pulling a flatbed trailer in the rain on U.S. 64 in San Juan County struck Begay when he walked into the truck's path. The state Traffic Safety Bureau said alcohol was involved, but details were not provided.

11/16/03 Joaquin Salazar, 21, Espanola; Valerie Trujillo, 24, Espanola. Witnesses say Salazar crashed his Honda into a 2000 Dodge Dakota at the intersection of N.M. 581 and N.M. 399. He had reportedly been drinking before the accident. Salazar, who was flown to an Albuquerque hospital, died around 11 a.m. the next day. Trujillo died at the scene.

11/18/03 Christopher M. Davenport, 31, Ruidoso. Davenport was speeding through Ruidoso on his Honda motorcycle when he crossed a center line to pass, dodged an oncoming delivery truck and collided with a minivan driven by 65-year-old retiree Penny Dillon, who was leaving a car wash. Davenport had earlier been at the Quarters Bar, according to a bartender, and drank more than three beers and seven shots of whiskey. He died of head injuries; he wasn't wearing a helmet.

11/19/03 Delbert Reeder, 41, Gallup. Reeder was a passenger in the back seat of a 1991 Pontiac traveling west on N.M. 118 at the I-40 east offramp. The car rolled several times and its three occupants were ejected. Passenger Cynthia Tsosie broke her back and driver Calvin Reeder suffered head injuries. Police found several beer bottles near the car.
Nov. 28 Joseph Crespin, 41, Las Vegas, N.M. Crespin was driving a Pontiac Grand Prix north on I-25 when he drifted off the road and overcorrected. The car rolled and Crespin, who wasn't wearing a seat belt, was ejected. A state police officer reported smelling alcohol inside the car but saw no other evidence.

11/30/03 Glenda Samford, 49, Mayhill. Samford drove a Ford pickup off N.M. 82 in Mayhill about 4:22 p.m. The truck rolled down an embankment, and Samford was ejected. Found near the truck were bottles of whiskey and rum and a small bag of marijuana. A report said Samford would have been charged with driving under the influence pending toxicology results.

11/30/03 Timothy Lasiter, 33, Clovis; Johnnie Vankleeck, 44, Lovington. A witness saw Lasiter and Vankleeck race their Harley- Davidson motorcycles at 70 mph in a 40-mph zone along Norris Street in Clovis before the bikes collided with a tow truck pulling a tractor-trailer. Lasiter died of a head injury after being flown to a Lubbock, Texas, hospital. Vankleeck died at the scene. The state Traffic Safety Bureau indicated alcohol was involved, but details were not provided.

12/02/03 Carol Copeland, 51, Pueblo, Colo. Two bottles of whiskey—one empty, the other nearly so—were found in Copeland's Cadillac on I-25 in Colfax County. State police say alcohol played a role when Copeland drove off the road and overcorrected her steering, causing the car to roll and land on its roof. A sheepdog belonging to Copeland survived with an injured left paw.

12/06/03 Yoli Delgarito, 30; Shorty Mason, 8. Delgarito was driving a pickup truck that overturned on Interstate 40 in Bernalillo County at 5:50 p.m.

12/06/03 Ronald P. McClellan, 38, Albuquerque; Jane Doe. Eric Beal, 22, of Albuquerque was arrested after hitting two pedestrians, McClellan and an unidentified woman, with his Ford pickup on Lomas Boulevard in Albuquerque at 9:06 p.m. Police say Beal drank alcohol before the accident and fled the scene. Officers stopped him a few blocks away.

12/06/03 Rachel Holmes, 31. Holmes was killed on Lomas Northeast around 9:45 p.m. It is unclear how alcohol was involved in this crash, but Traffic Safety Bureau officials have classified it as such.

12/16/03 Joseph Despres, 56. Despres was driving on N.M. 314 in Valencia County when he was hit by another vehicle. Details of this crash have not been released.

12/19/03 Miguel Montoya, 31, Las Cruces. Montoya was ejected from his Ford pickup as it rolled along I-10 in Dona Ana County. A state police officer smelled "a distinct odor of alcoholic beverage" from Montoya as paramedics treated him. Montoya died of head and abdominal injuries. Two open containers of beer were found inside the truck.

12/23/03 Delbert Charley, 37, Chinle, Ariz. State police were called to I-40 in Gallup and found a white sheet covering Charley's body in the median, 400 feet from where he was struck by a Chevy sport-utility vehicle while walking on the interstate. The SUV driver, Anthony Corrente of Oklahoma City, said he had turned his head to see how many cars were parked at a Wal-Mart when he struck Charley. Corrente hadn't been drinking, according to police.

12/27/03 Agustin Vasquez Torres, 27, Roswell. A state police officer found 27-year-old Artemio Ruiz sitting next to a Chevy Tahoe utility truck that had rolled on U.S. 380 in Chaves County. Torres was found dead about 40 feet from the truck and beer bottles were found nearby. Ruiz admitted being the driver and drinking two beers. Ruiz was charged with his third DWI, police said, and with careless driving and driving with an open bottle.