Albuquerque Journal
LA CIENEGA, N.M. — Vanessa Carrillo is back home in La Cienega, recovering from the head-on Interstate 25 crash last month that left her with dozens of broken bones but happy to be alive.
“I’m really happy to be here because I could have died. It’s really scary to think about that,” Carrillo told TV station KOAT.
Carrillo, 19, was behind the wheel of an ambulance about 2:30 a.m. Dec. 14 when a car speeding south in I-25’s northbound lanes at more than 100 mph rammed the ambulance.
Carrillo was in University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque until she was released last week. The driver of the wrong-way Nissan that caused the crash, Kylene Holmes, died. Holmes’ passenger, Jennifer Belvin, survived and was also hospitalized.
Holmes, 27, and Belvin, 38, had been drinking at the Cowgirl Hall of Fame bar and restaurant in Downtown Santa Fe before the crash. A Cowgirl bouncer tried unsuccessfully to persuade them not to drive away, then called police.
Belvin told police that Holmes had also been smoking marijuana the day leading up to the crash. A bottle of vodka and a green leafy substance — possibly marijuana — were found in the smashed Nissan.
Santa Fe Police Chief Aric Wheeler said Wednesday that police are still looking into how much booze the women consumed and into reports that people at the Cowgirl purchased drinks for them. A receipt shows that they purchased only one drink each for themselves.
A “source investigation” continues by the State Police Special Investigations Division, which will determine whether the bar should be cited for overserving.
Wheeler said police still haven’t received toxicology results for Holmes or blood work back on Belvin to determine what their blood-alcohol contents were at the time of the crash. Wheeler also said police “will work with the DA to determine if charges will be filed” against passenger Belvin.
Carrillo told KOAT she hopes that the passenger faces charges. “She’s just as responsible. She got in the car with her friend. She could have stayed out of the car and said I’m not going to be responsible if she hurts anyone,” Carrillo said.
Carrillo broke 35 bones in the crash, including 15 in her face. She has pins and screws in her legs and won’t be able to walk for months. She also needs another surgery to fix her broken nose.
The young ambulance driver said she’s frustrated because the accident could have been prevented. “If she (Holmes) would have just listened to the guy that told her that he’d get her a cab, it would have ended differently,” Carrillo said.
According to her family, Holmes was a tattoo artist who lived in El Paso. She rescued animals, raised pit bulls and was “the sweetest person in the world,” they said last month.
Wheeler confirmed Wednesday that photos of a woman advertising herself as “Olivia Secret” on an Albuquerque adult escort service website are of Holmes. But the chief said he doesn’t know whether she was an escort.
“She’s deceased, so it’s really not relevant to our investigation,” the police chief said.
Copyright 2011 Albuquerque Journal