New Mexico Man Convicted in Fatal DWI Accident Explains Suit

A Santa Fe, N.M., man convicted of a fatal 2010 drunken-driving accident says his filing a lawsuit against two restaurants and a drinking buddy doesn’t mean he’s not taking responsibility for his actions.

James Ruiz says in a letter to the news media that his lawsuit is intended to make the defendants take responsibility for their actions while seeking a way to repay relatives who paid for his legal defense.

Ruiz is in prison in Grants, serving a 42-year sentence for manslaughter and causing great bodily injury by vehicle.

Two members of a Naschetti family in Santa Fe for a high school basketball tournament were killed when Ruiz’s truck rear-ended the family’s car.

Ruiz and four other people were injured in the four-vehicle accident.