The family of the Española man killed Aug. 23 by a suspected drunk driver is looking into filing a wrongful-death lawsuit, according to attorney Bob Rothstein, of Rothstein Donatelli Hughes Law Firm in Santa Fe.
Ellen Smith, the mother of Robert Duran, 33, who was allegedly killed by Justin Martinez, 18, in a drunk-driving crash, confirmed the family has contacted Rothstein about possible legal action over her son’s death. Rothstein said his firm has just received the case and doesn’t anticipate filing a complaint for some time. He wouldn’t say who would be the target of a possible future complaint, but confirmed that Red’s Tavern, the liquor store where Martinez allegedly obtained his alcohol is “a subject we’d be investigating.”
Española Police searched that liquor store Aug. 25 after obtaining a search warrant, and seized the surveillance footage for the time Martinez was allegedly in the store. Martinez told police he bought a 750 milliliter bottle of vodka from Red’s the night of Aug. 22 because the clerks know him and never ask to see his identification.
As of Tuesday, no one has been arrested for selling alcohol to Martinez, Sgt. Christian Lopez said.
Red’s owner Jose Roybal said no one at his store sold Martinez the liquor. He said he questioned the two clerks working that night, and they claim they didn’t sell to Martinez. Only one member of his staff said he was acquainted with Martinez, Roybal said.
“I don’t sell to kids, and I don’t sell to drunks,” Roybal said. “The police have the tapes and everything. This is a week ago — and nada. It’s got me on pins and needles though.”
Lopez said a Red’s employee will be arrested, but would not say when. He said he is confident Martinez was not lying about where he bought the liquor.
Martinez did originally attempt to evade responsibility for killing Duran by convincing one of his passengers to tell police she was driving, according to a recently released police report. When police first arrived at the scene, Donna Gee, 16, who had also been drinking, told police she was driving north on McCurdy Road when Duran jumped in front of her, and she couldn’t avoid him. Back at the police station, she began to cry and ask if “he” really hit someone. She then said Martinez had been driving and she was in the back left passenger seat during the crash, although the Honda Civic he was driving was registered to her parents.
Lopez said there is no doubt that Martinez, not Gee, was driving at the time of the crash. Martinez is charged with homicide by vehicle, great bodily injury by vehicle, two counts of giving alcohol to minors and two counts of abandonment or abuse of a child. He is being held at McKinley County Jail on $250,000 cash-only bond.
Blood test results that would reveal the level of Martinez’s intoxication have yet to be released.
A search warrant did reveal that Martinez and his two passengers left Martinez’s aunt Jessica Martinez’s house, where they were drinking before the crash, because Jessica Martinez and Gee got in an argument. Jessica Martinez, of Arroyo Seco, allegedly tried to convince Gee to drive her back to Española to buy more alcohol, but Gee refused. Jessica Martinez then told the three to leave, documents state. Jessica Martinez’s age is not given in the warrant, but Lopez said she was of the legal drinking age. Jessica Martinez has not yet been charged in connection with the incident, but police have said she is under investigation.
Meanwhile, Duran’s family is still reeling from the sudden and unexpected loss. Smith, of Russellville, Ark., said Duran worked at the state legislature when it was in session and the rest of the time worked at Chili’s restaurant in Española.
“Robert was a great person, a great son and we loved him dearly and we’ll miss him greatly,” Smith said. “This shouldn’t have happened. It was a senseless thing.”