A motorist made a U-turn in the median of Interstate 25 before his pickup truck collided head-on with a van, killing him and five members of a Las Vegas family.

Tapes of calls to 911 dispatchers at the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office show that in about five minutes 18 callers reported seeing a truck like Dana Papst’s truck speed the wrong way on Interstate 25 last Saturday night.

“There is a car going the opposite direction that almost hit us head on,” said one woman to the 911 operator. Another caller said that “he’s going like 95.”

Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano says deputies now think that Papst, 44, missed his exit off of I-25 and instead of getting off of the highway at the next exit and turning around, he turned around right in the interstate and drove back going the wrong way.

Solano says Papst drove southbound about five miles before sideswiping one vehicle and hitting a minivan carrying a family returning to Las Vegas from a soccer tournament in Albuquerque.

Police say Papst had a blood-alcohol level of .32, four times the state’s intoxication standard. Two witnesses say that Papst, who had just returned from a businesses trip, appeared intoxicated on the plane before landing in Albuquerque.

Investigators with the New Mexico Department of Public Safety say there is about an hour during which they can’t account for Papst’s whereabouts between the time he deplaned and the crash. They are trying to determine where he was – and, if he was drinking, the source of the booze.

http://kob.com/index.cfm?viewer=storyviewe...=28858&cat=HOME

How f*cking drunk do you need to be to do a u-turn on the interstate and go 5 miles in the wrong direction? Four times the legal limit, apparently.


Wednesday’s memorial was for Paul Gonzales, 36, and Rene Collins-Gonzales, 39, and three of their daughters: 17-year-old Alicia Garcia, 11-year-old Jacqueline Gonzales and 10-year-old Selena Gonzales.

The five were killed when their minivan, on the way back from a soccer tournament, was hit head-on on I-25 at about 8:00 Saturday by a truck being driven the wrong way on Interstate 25 near Santa Fe.

Meanwhile, the sole surviving member of the head-on collision was released from the hospital Tuesday and taken to a relative’s home where she will be cared for.

Tuesday evening, about 1,000 people gathered at West Las Vegas High School Tuesday evening at a candlelight vigil for the Gonzales family.

Participants also offered prayers for 15-year-old Arrisa Garcia, the only survivor of the wreck. Arrisa did not attend the ceremony.

The driver of the truck that slammed into the minivan, 44-year-old Dana Papst, died the following morning of injuries sustained in the crash. Santa Fe Sheriff Greg Solano says that Papst had a blood alcohol level of .32 percent – or four times the legal limit—at the time of the crash.

The Gonzales family was well known in the Las Vegas Community. Rene Collins-Gonzales was a school nurse. Paul Gonzales, an accountant, was also a girls’ basketball coach. People in Las Vegas recall them being very involved in community schools.

A public rosary will be said for the Gonzales family Friday evening at the John A. Wilson Complex on the campus of New Mexico Highlands University.

http://www.kobtv.com/index.cfm?viewer=stor...at=NMTOPSTORIES

Our lives are in the hands of minimum wage gas station cashiers?


SANTA FE (AP) - A Bernalillo convenience store employee suspected of selling alcohol to a Tesuque man who caused a fatal crash has been suspended without pay.

That’s according to Ron Sims, the general manager of Ever-Ready Oil Company’s retail division.

Ever-Ready leases a liquor license for the Chevron Redi-Mart.

State officials issued the Chevron Redi-Mart its first alcohol citation over the weekend for selling a six pack of beer to Dana Papst, whom police say already was intoxicated.

State investigators used credit card records to determine the store had sold Papst the beer about an hour before the Nov. 11 crash.

Papst headed the wrong way on Interstate 25 near Santa Fe, killing five members of a Las Vegas family and himself.


http://kob.com/index.cfm?viewer=storyviewe...=29479&cat=HOME


This state sells liquor everywhere. Gas stations, Walgreens, WalMart, hell we have drive-through liquor stores.

http://www.albminingco.com/foxes.htm

U.S. Airways has been ordered to stop serving alcohol on flights in New Mexico, and a Bernalillo convenience store’s liquor license has been pulled, following a fatal drunk-driving crash that killed six people.

Gov. Bill Richardson announced the penalties against U.S. Airways and the Redi-Mart in Bernalillo late Monday afternoon.

Richardson said he convinced Giant Industries to terminate its liquor license lease with the convenience store, while the state issued the order to U.S. Airways.

On Nov. 11, police say Dana Papst of Tesque was drunk when he drove his pickup the wrong way on Interstate 25, hitting a van carrying a family home from a soccer tournament.

Papst and five people in the minivan were killed. Arissa Garcia, 15, was the sole survivor.

Passengers on a U.S. Airways flight that brought Papst to Albuquerque earlier that day said he appeared drunk on the flight, but was still served alcohol.

Authorities discovered the airline lacked a license, according to Ed Lopez, who is superintendent of regulation and licensing.

A few hours later, Papst apparently bought alcohol at the Bernalillo convenience store, which was later cited for selling him beer even though he was drunk.

Eyewitness News 4 is still gathering details. Stay tuned to Eyewitness News 4 and KOBTV.com for the latest information on this breaking news.

http://kob.com/index.cfm?viewer=storyviewe...=30056&cat=HOME