A witness took matters into his own hands Monday night to stop an accused drunk driver from going any further.
Cell phone video shows an Albuquerque man physically removing someone from behind the wheel of a car. Police say he was driving while under the influence.
The suspect, 24-year old Malcolm Torres, is now facing aggravated DWI and other charges for the incident that unfolded on Central Avenue Monday night.
The witness who stopped Torres says he intervened to keep anyone from getting hurt.
“I think anybody in my situation would have done the same thing,” said Adam Gates.
Gates is credited for pulling Torres out of the front seat of Torres’ car after he stopped in the parking lot of Presbyterian Hospital.
It happened around 11 p.m. on Central Avenue just east of I-25. Gates was driving eastbound when he says he saw a car stall out at a slow speed. The car stopped after hitting a curb and partially jumping the curb onto the nearby sidewalk.
“He just kind of hit the curb and drove up on to the sidewalk and just stopped,” said Gates.
Gates stopped his own car and got out to check on the driver. He says he first thought the driver was having a medical episode, but then smelled alcohol.
“I tried to take the keys out of the ignition and at that point he just kind of floored it,” said Gates.
The driver took off eastbound on Central. Gates ran back to his car and decided to follow the driver.
“He’s like barely even ****ing conscious!” Gates can be heard saying in the cell phone video of the incident.
Speaking to KRQE News 13 Tuesday evening, Gates said he continued to follow the driver because of the danger he felt the situation posed to others.
“I take personal issue with situations like this because I’ve had a family member injured by a drunk driver,” said Gates.
The suspect eventually stopped in a parking space. Gates seized the moment, asking the driver multiple times to get out of the car.
Videos shows Torres stayed put until Gates forcefully pulled him out of the car.
“I did what I felt like I needed to do to stop this guy and make sure he didn’t hurt anybody,” said Gates.
APD arrested Malcolm Torres. Torres refused a breath-alcohol test according to a criminal complaint. The complaint states that officers also found alcohol in Torres’ car.
New Mexico court records indicate this is Torres’ fourth DWI arrest. Torres is supposed to go to trial for one of the cases in October.
