Police: Capital student who died in crash had been drinking
A Capital High School student was drinking before he crashed his truck into a tree and died early Sunday, according to a Santa Fe police report.
Jesús Montijo-Tavarez’s pickup slid off Mutt Nelson Road and rolled into an arroyo, where it came to a stop after hitting a tree.
Officers and two passersby pulled Montijo-Tavarez, 16, out of the back window of his white GMC Sierra. When officers began performing CPR, one noticed the teen smelled of alcohol, the police report states.
“It appears that there was an underage party involving alcohol in the area,” according to the report.
The person who called 911 to report the crash said he was driving to the party but turned around when he noticed cars leaving the area.
He pulled over when he saw a vehicle’s headlights in the arroyo near the intersection of Cottontail and Mutt Nelson roads. He then went to check on the driver and called 911.
He recognized Montijo-Tavarez
and told officers he was his friend but that he did not know if he had attended the house party.
People who stopped at the scene told officers they were coming from the party. While none of them saw the crash, they told officers that Montijo-Tavarez had attended the party and did have “a few drinks there,” the report states.
Officers believe Montijo-Tavarez was wearing his seat belt, but that he was driving at a high speed around a curve. His tires went off the side of the road into the ice and snow, the report states, and his truck slid about 140 feet before leaving the road and going onto the edge of the arroyo.
The truck continued another 400 feet and rolled before it came to a stop.
Medics declared Montijo-Tavarez dead at the scene.