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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Ex-CSF Board Chair Charged With DWI

By Vic Vela
Journal Staff Writer
       A former College of Santa Fe board of trustees chairwoman was arrested last week on DWI and other charges after causing an accident at a downtown intersection and leaving the scene, police say.
    Katherin Chase, 67, admitted that she had been drinking Thursday evening prior to running a stop sign at the intersection of West Alameda and West Water streets, said Santa Fe police Lt. Dale Lettenberger.
    After running the stop sign as she was traveling south on Water Street, Chase caused another driver, Beverly Marcia, to crash her 2007 Mazda into Chase's 1998 Saab about 10 p.m., according to the lieutenant.
    Chase then drove away from the scene of the accident and to her home on Upper Canyon Road. Lettenberger said dispatchers received several phone calls about a Saab traveling in the area with "heavy damage" and a bad tire.
    When his wife came home, David Chase, also a former College of Santa Fe board chairman, told police she had been the victim of a hit-and-run. However, police don't believe that is the case.
    When police arrived to interview Katherin Chase, they noticed she had "an odor of alcohol and rosy cheeks," according to Lettenberger.
    Chase admitted she had "a couple of glasses of wine" at a benefit dinner that evening, though police do not know what the event was for.
    Chase failed standard sobriety tests at her home and was then taken to the hospital, where she was checked for possible injuries sustained in the crash and had blood drawn to test for alcohol concentration.
    After being released from the hospital, Chase was booked into the Santa Fe County jail and charged with DWI, reckless driving, failure to stop at a stop sign, leaving the scene of an accident and failure to render aid following an accident, Lettenberger said.
    Though Marcia, 46, initially refused medical treatment at the scene, she was treated and released at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center later that evening.
    Chase was chairwoman of the college's board of trustees prior to her husband taking over the role, a position he held until the college's takeover this year by the for-profit Laureate Education Inc.

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