Driver in transit crash charged with DUI

TWIN LAKES, N.M.

Rick Hoskie, 53, was sitting in the second row of the Navajo Transit Bus that was struck by a suspected drunk driver last Friday on U.S. Highway 491 near mile marker 16.

Hoskie, who rides the Route 14 transit from Newcomb, N.M. to work in Window Rock, remembers waking up from his nap to the sound of a passenger screaming at the black sport utility vehicle that sideswiped the right side of the transit.

“I was kicking back. My eyes were closed,” Hoskie said, while recounting the 7 a.m. accident from his desk at the Navajo Nation Retirement Services Department.

“All of a sudden, I heard someone scream,” he added. “A lady was screaming and looking forward. I saw a small black car. It was in our lane.”

According to Hoskie, if bus driver Stanley Brooks, Jr., didn’t veer left to avoid the female driver, Lucindie Benally, in the black SUV, the bus would have driven head-on and possibly over the car.

“The vehicle that came at us had no skid marks. It didn’t try to stop,” Hoskie said.

According to the accident report filed by Navajo Nation Police Officer Chasity Billy, Benally was arrested on DUI and reckless driving charges.

The black SUV, which was smashed like an aluminum soda can, had caused the bus to slide across the highway before it landed in the dirt off the highway’s shoulder.

Once the bus came to a halt, Hoskie remembers others in the bus saying, “Don’t move. Don’t move.”

He was one of the first passengers to dial 911 for help, adding that he and the other 18 passengers on the bus had to essentially crawl out.

Hoskie also reportedly checked on the driver of the black car, who he said had suffered from cuts and bruises and was “okay.” Her car was located on the west side of the highway.

“It was a young lady,” Hoskie said. “She was okay. She just said her arm hurt.”

According to Brooks, who drives Route 14 between Window Rock and Shiprock, he noticed the vehicle proceeding into transit’s lane.

“That’s when I made the decision to slow down,” Brooks said, adding he decided to make a left but the vehicle turned again toward the bus and he then veered back to the right.

When the driver proceeded to go toward the bus, that’s when Brooks veered back to the left – causing passengers to “fly around” in the bus, according to Brooks.

“Everyone screamed because we thought the bus was going to tip over on the side but it came back on its fours and that’s when everybody fell back to the right side,” Brooks said.

Brooks, who said he was shaken up, said that he was going to the health clinic later in the day to get checked out for any injuries after processing paperwork about the accident.

Several injured passengers were taken by ambulance to the Gallup Indian Medical Center and those uninjured like Hoskie reportedly went back to work in Window Rock.

Those injured in the crash include Cherise Natahe, Verbena Mike, Lupita White, Audrey Roberts and Brooks.

Jeremiah Herrera, District 6 project manager for the New Mexico Department of Transportation, said the site of the accident is part of the active construction zone of the highway.

“Right now we have all measures up for construction planning,” he said, adding that his crew had worked to remove the damaged car and bus from the highway.

Harrison Smith, acting manager for the Navajo Transit System, said A-1 Towing, of Farmington, would tow the passenger bus back to Fort Defiance to the Navajo Transit System Shop.

Navajo Nation Police, McKinley County sheriff’s deputies and New Mexico State Police were on scene, along with the Navajo Estates Volunteer Fire Department.

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