N.M. Deputy Crashes Car Into Busy Restaurant

A Taos County sheriff's deputy crashed his car into a packed El Prado restaurant on Christmas Eve, landing in the patio.

As the deputy's car spun and rolled through the parking lot into the patio, it took out more than half of the restaurant's fence and three trees before coming to rest on the patio fire pit, in an area where there also was a tank of kerosene and a propane tank, said a restaurant employee who was in the restaurant at the time.

The car stopped "just inches" from the patio's winter-weather tent, which was packed for Christmas Eve dinner when the crash happened about 8 p.m., said Christina Garcia,who was on duty at Orlando's New Mexico Cafe.

"We were afraid the car was going to blow up," Garcia said. "A group of boys sitting on our porch got the fire pit and pulled it out -- one boy burned his hand," she said. "Then they pulled the kerosene and the propane tank out of the way and got the officer out of the car."

Taos County Sheriff Miguel Romero said Deputy Nicholas Lamendola was responding to a call in Questa. With his lights flashing and siren engaged, he was traveling fast through traffic on the north side of Taos when a car at the side of the roadway pulled out in front of him. As Lamendola's car spun and rolled, it badly damaged three cars in Orlando's parking lot.

Beer cans were found in the deputy's car, but Romero was adamant that Lamendola had not been drinking. "He had just borrowed the vehicle from another officer, and that officer had responded to open container calls," Romero said. "(Lamendola) wasn't drinking."

Lamendola, who suffered only minor injuries, was taken to Holy Cross Hospital in Taos where a urine test was performed, as required by department policy, Romero said. The test came back negative "for any kind of drug."

New Mexico State Police are investigating the crash. Spokesman Lt. Robert McDonald said that to his knowledge, no blood alcohol test had been performed while Lamendola was at the hospital.

"There was no reason to, as far as I know," McDonald said.

Copyright 2011 - Albuquerque Journal, N.M.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service