Peshlakai family carries anti-DWI mission into 16th year
Courtesy | Peshlakai family
Darlene Thomas, far left, and Dave Peshlakai, far right, and their grandkids honor the lives of their daughters and raise awareness during their annual DWI checkpoint with the Santa Fe Police Department on Cerrillos Road in Santa Fe.
SANTA FE
Sixteen years after Del Lynn Peshlakai, 19, and DeShauna Peshlakai, 17, were killed by a drunk driver in Santa Fe, their parents are still turning that loss into a public fight against impaired driving.
Darlene and David Peshlakai will again stand alongside law enforcement this weekend for the annual Angels vs. Drunk Driving sobriety checkpoint in Santa Fe, an event that grew out of the March 5, 2010, crash that killed their daughters as the family was driving home to Naschitti after a basketball game.
Public records and court filings show James Ruiz, a repeat DWI offender, rear-ended the family’s vehicle after drinking at Blue Corn Cafe (now Hidden Mountain Brewing Co.) and Applebee’s. Ruiz’s blood alcohol content was measured at 0.22. He was later convicted and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
For the Peshlakais, the checkpoint serves as both a memorial and an attempt to prevent more deaths.
To read the full article, please see the March 19, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.
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Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow