ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Alcohol-related traffic deaths in New Mexico have reached a record low after falling sharply over 10 years, Gov. Susana Martinez announced Thursday.
Martinez said preliminary numbers show the state saw 133 fatal alcohol-related crashes last year, a nearly 14 percent drop from 2012. That’s the lowest number of annual alcohol-related traffic deaths recorded in the state and marked a 38 percent decline from a decade ago, the governor said.
Martinez attributed the recent decline to tougher DWI penalties, aggressive programs by law enforcement agencies and better awareness by the public.
“We won’t stop and we will not back off,” Martinez said at a press conference at Islesta Amphitheater. “We have to continue to work to bring those fatalities to zero.”
The state’s previous low was in 2008 when New Mexico saw 143 alcohol-related traffic deaths.
Officials said some traffic fatalities involved substances other than alcohol.
Richard Woodward applauded the latest numbers but said he still lives with the pain of a deadly crash that changed his family. His 18-month-old grandson Brandon Lucero-Moya was killed by a driver high on methamphetamines in 2010 when the driver slammed into Woodward’s car at a stop sign in a residential area.
The driver, Driver Ramon Rasco, was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2011 after he was found guilty on charges that included homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence.
“It is getting better, and I am really happy for that,” Woodward said about the state’s improved numbers.
The New Mexico Department of Transportation said preliminary numbers show that New Mexico saw a total of 309 traffic deaths last year. That’s about a 16 percent drop from 2012, when officials reported 367 cases.
Official said they hope traffic fatalities will drop even more next year.
Martinez recently sign a bill prohibiting drivers from sending or reading text messages and emails, and doing Internet searches from smartphones or other hand-held wireless devices.
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