Crash investigators trace liquor trail

SANTA FE (KRQE - Santa Fe County investigators are tracking leads on where and how much Scott Owens may have been drinking in the hours leading up to a crash that killed four teens near Santa Fe on Sunday.

Owens, 28, is accused of crossing the center line of Old Las Vegas Highway southeast Santa Fe into the path of a car carrying five teens. Only the driver survived and is recovering from serious injuries.

Deputes on the scene reported Owens smelled of alcohol.

"We're trying to establish how much he had in his system because we don't know the (blood alcohol content)," Santa Fe County Undersheriff Robert Garcia told KRQE News 13 Thursday.

Owens' mother said her son was at a barbecue Saturday night. Investigators now say about two hours before the crash an acquaintance saw Owens at a Santa Fe bar called The Matador.

Paul Esquivel, Owens' boss and owner of a local welding company where Owens works, said he bought a 12 pack of Tecate beer that night at Sunrise General Store near the crash site. Esquivel also purchased beer and vodka and he said the two drank together that night.

Investigators are also looking to see whether another convenience store sold alcohol to Owens. That will be part of the investigation, and Garcia said any clerk who sold or gave alcohol to an intoxicated person could be charged.

Deputies will be looking at surveillance video that may exist from the mini marts or other businesses.

Additionally deputies reported finding a glass pipe in Owens' Jeep. However they are waiting on toxicology reports, due back within two weeks, which are expected to reveal whether Owens was impaired the night.

Owens is being held on a $3 million cash-only bond charged with four counts of vehicular homicide and one count of great bodily harm by vehicle. He is being held in the Santa Fe County Detention Center in protective custody.

Rose Simmons, 15, and Julian Martinez, Alyssa Trouw and Kate Klein, all 16, died in the collision. Avree Koffman, the driver, was initially listed in critical condition but has been upgraded to serious with injuries including a skull fracture and broken pelvis, according to her family.