Man arrested in DWI related crash

Fermin Lopez, 42, was arrested on suspicion of aggravated driving while intoxicated, failure to maintain traffic lanes, driving on an expired license, leaving the scene of an accident, and having an open container of an alcoholic beverage inside his vehicle, State Police Lt. Eric Garcia said.

This is Lopez's fourth DWI arrest, Garcia said.

Lopez refused to submit to an alcohol blood concentration breath test following Wednesday's accident. A blood draw was done on Lopez and results are expected in a few weeks.

Lopez was booked into the Valencia County Detention Center on Wednesday night.

I-25 crash near Los Lunas possibly alcohol related

An alleged repeat drunken driver created a domino effect tonight (Nov. 4) on south Interstate 25 causing a truck to crash into a Valencia County sheriff's vehicle, throwing an officer to the ground, State Police say.

The incident occurred just before 6 p.m. when a sheriff's department sergeant made a traffic stop of a commercial vehicle southbound on I-25 near Los Lunas, State Police Lt. Eric Garcia said. 

The officer returned to his unit following the traffic stop. He was then struck by the unit when it was pushed forward by a pickup truck that crashed into it.

The crash was a result of the pickup truck being hit by an alleged drunken driver in another vehicle. The suspected intoxicated driver continued to drive southbound on I-25 to the Los Lunas exit, Garcia said.

The pickup driver followed the alleged drunk driver to N.M. 6 and called 911. Los Lunas police were alerted and stopped the vehicle.
Police took the suspect into custody.

The suspect's identity was not immediately known following the accident. Garcia said it may be the suspect's fourth or subsequent DWI charge.

The sergeant was treated for minor injuries and released at the scene. The driver of the pickup truck was not injured.