Owner, suspects in fatal stolen-van crash sued
Work van belonged to electrical company
The family of a mother and daughter killed last month when their car was struck by a stolen van have filed a lawsuit against the two alleged thieves, as well as a man who allegedly left the work vehicle unattended and running the morning of the theft.
The lawsuit also names as a defendant an Albuquerque electrical company that owned the stolen van.
The Jan. 18 crash claimed the lives of Shaunna ArredondoBoling, 39, and her 14-year-old daughter, Shaylee Boling. Arredondo-Boling’s 3-year-old son also was in the car and suffered a broken leg in the crash at Copper and Chelwood Park NE.
Albuquerque police say that Paul Anthony Garcia, 24, and Elexus Groves, 21, stole the work van as it idled in a driveway about 6 a.m. and led police on a brief chase at speeds up to 75 mph in the minutes before it T-boned Arredondo-Boling’s vehicle.
Garcia and Groves each are charged with two counts of first-degree murder, stealing a vehicle, fleeing law enforcement and other crimes.
Groves was arrested in Albuquerque two days after the crash. Garcia evaded arrest until Feb. 2, when he was spotted at a McDonald’s restaurant in Edgewood. Both remained in custody Monday in the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center.
The lawsuit, filed in 1st Judicial District Court in Santa Fe, alleges that Garcia and Groves operated the vehicle negligently, resulting in the deaths of both Arredondo-Boling and Shaylee Boling, and injury to ArredondoBoling’s son.
The lawsuit also alleges that Xavier Banda was warming up his work van and left it unattended the morning of the fatal crash. The van was owned by his employer, M. Electric Inc., an Albuquerque electrical company.
The lawsuit alleges negligence by Banda, M. Electric Inc., and Miguel Silva, who is identified in state corporation records as the president of M. Electric. The lawsuit seeks an undisclosed
amount in compensatory and punitive damages.
Reached by phone on Monday, Silva declined to comment on the case and said Banda also would have no comment.
The lawsuit was by David Arredondo, the husband of Shaunna Arredondo-Boling and stepfather of Shaylee Boling. The suit also was filed on behalf of “J.A.,” identified as Arredondo-Boling’s son.