Drunk Driving Tragedy Empowers Teen
A fatal crash turned an extended family into activists against drunk driving.
July 3, 2007 — -- For the people of rural Las Vegas, N.M., family is everything, and Paul and Renee Gonzalez seemed to be the most involved parents the town has ever seen.
Renee Gonzalez was a nurse at the local middle school. Paul Gonzalez was a girls' soccer and basketball coach who bought the team bus with his own money. And when anyone in town saw the couple, they had at least one of their children -- Alisha, Arissa, Jacqueline or Selena -- in tow.
"If you ever wanted to see involved parents they were the epitome of perfect parents," said Valerie Villa Lopez, who worked with Renee. "As a teacher you always wanted their kids because you knew if you had their kids you were going to get support."
That all changed in a horrific accident just before Thanksgiving, 2006. The family was returning home from a soccer tournament, driving on a highway at twilight. A drunk driver hit them head-on at 75 miles an hour. Their car crumbled, and the scene shocked even the seasoned cops and ambulance workers who came to their rescue.
"This will probably be the most horrific accident I've encountered in my career," said Lt. Josh Duran, who was at the site shortly after the accident.
But out of the wreckage came a miracle, both for the family and their community. Though the crash killed her parents and three sisters, 15-year old Arissa survived.
"It was a happy moment. She was looking at us," said EMT Genevieve David. "She had big eyes and she was just looking at us. I remember thinking 'wow she's alive.'"
The drunk driver died as well, but Arissa sustained only minor injuries. At the hospital, she kept asking for Amor, her chihuahua, who she insisted was in the family's van. Hours after the accident, officials discovered Amor trembling under a car seat.
"It was the only thing that survived the crash with her and it became this little treasure," David said.
Firefighters rushed the dog to Arissa's bedside. And soon, the entire town came out to cheer Arissa as she left the hospital, though grief still was settling in.
