Woman arrested after alleged drunken driving on ATV

Ashley Meeks

LAS CRUCES - An ATV may be the latest vehicle seized under a county ordinance designed to deter drunken driving, after what police say was a drunken driving accident - in the driver's front yard.

Rebecca May, 53, was arrested and charged with drunken and careless driving after Las Cruces police responded to a report of an ATV rollover on the 8000 block of Keel Road, on the East Mesa, just before 9 p.m. Monday.

May, who was not wearing a helmet, was doing donuts on her 2008 Yamaha YFM450 and "took one of the turns too fast" when she was thrown off the camouflage all-terrain vehicle, her boyfriend told police. In addition to scraping up both her knees and her right shoulder and right arm, May broke two of her ribs, according to the police report.

May told fire department personnel she had five beers to drink, according to the responding officer, who reported her speech was very slurred and there was "a strong odor of alcohol" coming from her.

But when police asked how much she'd had to drink, she only admitted to drinking "two beers," according to the police report. She "was on private property," she told the officer, so "why did it matter?"

"There is no distinction between private or other property," explained LCPD Sgt. Kiri Daines, the supervisor on the case. New Mexico statute states: "It is unlawful for a person who is under the influence of intoxicating liquor to drive a vehicle within this state."

Police tested May's sobriety - after medical personnel had put her in a full neck brace and strapped her to a backboard - by checking the movement of her eyes, but she "very adamantly" refused to submit to the test, "and kept stating that she was on her own property and that none of that applied to her."

In the ambulance, May allegedly continued to be "very disorderly," according to the police report, which says she refused to give medics identifying information, tried to refuse medical aid and assistance and "became very upset and then threw up in the ambulance."

After medical staff drew May's blood, scanned and X-rayed her and wrote a prescription for Vicodin, May refused to sign paperwork explaining her legal rights and was transported to the Do-a Ana County Detention Center, where she was released on bond after just a few hours.

Because May has been previously convicted of drunken driving, police may still seize her ATV under county ordinance.

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Source: http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_15764674

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