Summary
DWI One year after a drunken driver killed five members of a family in a wrong-way collision, relatives struggle to move forward while raising awareness
LAS VEGAS, N.M.-Outside K-Bob's Steakhouse, the late October evening air crackles with a cold, biting wind that earlier swept a brief snowstorm through town. The Collins family hurries inside the warm, bustling restaurant. The smell of hamburgers and fajitas sizzling on the grill wafts around the dining room as Ray Collins Jr., a dentist, settles into a chair next to his boisterous 2-year- old son, "Little Ray." Across from him is his pregnant wife, Katrina, who also is a dentist. His 16-year-old niece, Arissa Garcia, wearing aWest Las Vegas Lady Dons sweat shirt, sits down beside him. At the other end of the long wooden table are Arissa's grandfather, Ray Sr., and her aunt, Roxanne. In years past, there have been more chairs around the table. But on Nov. 11, 2006, five members of their family died on Interstate 25 near Santa Fe, crushed in their minivan when it was hit head-on by a drunken driver going the wrong way. Killed were Paul Gonzales, 36; his wife, Renee Collins-Gonzales, 39; her daughter Alisha Rae Garcia, 17; and the couple's two daughters, Jacquelynn, 11, and Selena, 10. The last year has been hard, says Ray Collins Sr., Renee's dad, before recapping some of what the family has gone through since the accident. Arissa listens but says nothing, her face stoic. She and a family dog named Amor were the wreck's only two survivors.See the full content of this document
Extract
Shared Sorrow Shared Strength
Colorful, silk autumn leaves hang over the door of the Alternative Home Health Care offices on the town's National Street. Inside, the desks of owners Ralph and Maxine Gonzales are scattered with invoices, bills, messages and the other trappings of a busy office. Both nurses, the Gonzaleses started this home health care business with Paul's help in 1992. Their staff of 63 is available seven days a week, including holidays, to change dressings, check medications and transport clients to doctors' appointments. On Maxine's desk is a frame with pictures of Maxine's son, Paul, the couple's daughte...
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