'It's Really bad' (4 teens killed in NM highway crash by drunk driver)

The Albuquerque Journal ^ | June 30, 2009 | Phil Parker And Kiera Hay

[CedarDave]

Jeez...

Officer faces DWI charges (Santa Fe NM police Lt.)

[CedarDave]

From the story with the 911 audio:

Near Sunday’s crash site on Interstate 25 — which runs parallel to Old Las Vegas Highway east of Santa Fe — five members of a Las Vegas, N.M., family and drunken driver Dana Papst were killed in November 2006 when Papst drove his pickup truck the wrong way on the interstate’s northbound lanes into the family’s van.

[IYAS9YAS]

It looks to have been a Ford Explorer based on the headlight area.

[cripplecreek]

I just read an update and it looks like all the kids will live. 4 of the 5 previously listed as critical have been upgraded to stable condition.

From the names I’m guessing one is the son of one of the guys I used to run with as a kid. (doing the same crap)

What there were doing was getting airborn on a dirt road with some steep sharp hills. We used to do the same when I was a teenager.

[cripplecreek]

some of the stuff I see on youtube (kids trying to jump over moving cars, for instance) makes me think that kids no longer see a line between fantasy physics and reality physics.

We also coddle children so much when they're young they don't learn these things for themselves as a natural process.

[adopt4Christ]

16 year olds are too young to be driving a car. I’ve told all four of mine that I will support them legally driving at 18 — not before.

[xp38]

The interesting thing about the Princess Di crash is that the one person wearing a seatbelt survived but the 3 who didn’t didn’t. I remember one very graphic photo of the car and the image would make you think no one could have lived through the crash.

[coop71]

At my 15 year college reunion in April, someone reminded me of the time we borrowed a friend’s BMW. I got it up to 130. When my friend brought it up, I felt physically sick at the memory. How STUPID of me, and how careless. I was 21 at the time. I knew better but did it anyway.

In high school I routinely stole my parents car at 3am and took it on joyrides to see how fast I could go. Then I’d replace the gas I’d used and roll it back in the driveway - they never found out. Again, I feel sick at the thought of what could have happened. I was a stupid young woman, but very lucky.

[cripplecreek]

16 year olds are too young to be driving a car. I’ve told all four of mine that I will support them legally driving at 18 — not before.

That all depends. Where I grew up it was pretty common to be a fairly experienced driver at 14 years old between driving on farms and our parents letting us do the driving on backroads.

[adopt4Christ]

We don’t live on a farm and we don’t drive tractors or lawn mowers. 16 year old brains are still growing — haven’t fully cooked yet. My house, my insurance, my rules.

[Alberta's Child]

Nothing wrong with posting your thoughts on that. I work professionally in a field where roadway safety is one of my single primary concerns, and I have long said that roadside checkpoints for drunk drivers have no place in America.

[cripplecreek]

That’s fine. Just pointing out that all 16 year olds aren’t the same.

I was required to take drivers training but was exempted from having to take an actual behind the wheel test. Just the written test to get my license.

[EDINVA]

When I was in high school a drunk driver slammed into a car full of mothers (6, as I recall) returning from a church school activity. Among them they had over 20 kids. The only survivors were one mother who was maimed for life, and - unharmed - the drunk driver.

[cripplecreek]

roadside checkpoints for drunk drivers have no place in America.

When I drank I drove backroads anyway and would have been unlikely to run into a checkpoint.

[Alberta's Child]

Amazing . . . that post looks like the aftermath of a Darwin Award ceremony where five recipients were honored.

[xp38]

A little difficult to even tell it was a BMW from that shot.

[OB1kNOb]

Did the drunken murderer survive?

[JenB987]

I wonder why they were out at midnight going to a party and not on their way home? In PA, kids under 18 have a driving curfew from 11:00 PM - 5:00 AM. It sucked when I was that age, but I can definately understand it now. 16 year old don't need to be out later than that. My prayers are with these kids and their families, however.

[CedarDave]

I wonder why they were out at midnight going to a party and not on their way home?

Good question. And if going to a "party" in El Dorado, the chances were probably good that there was alcohol there too. Not to diminish the tragedy, but if they weren't out on the highway at that hour, it wouldn't have happened.

[JenB987]

Exactly what I was thinking.

My parents would have never let me out of house that late to go somewhere. In fact, at 16, I was even allowed to go to people’s houses who my parents didn’t already know.

It’s sad, but I have a feeling these parents are now regretting letting their kids get away with the things they did.