Tomasita's named as defendant in lawsuit over 2017 DWI death

Santa Fe New Mexican, The (NM)

Sep. 9--The family of a motorcyclist killed in a September 2017 crash with a woman who told police she had been drinking at Tomasita's has filed a lawsuit against the restaurant.

Alexis St. James, 66, is accused of striking and killing Anthony Archuleta, 50, at St. Michael's Drive and Pacheco Street and then fleeing.

A police report said witnesses followed St. James and called in her license plate number following the crash, and officers arrested her in a residential neighborhood off South Pacheco Street.

St. James said she had consumed a margarita at Tomasita's, in the Santa Fe Railyard, about an hour before the crash, according to the report.

The wrongful death complaint filed Sept. 2 in state District Court by Archuleta's family, however, says St. James' credit card account showed she had purchased two alcoholic drinks at Tomasita's between 12:24 and 1:41 p.m. that day, Sept. 9, 2017.

St. James and her insurance company are also named as defendants in the lawsuit, which accuses Tomasita's of allowing her to leave "visibly intoxicated."

"Defendant St. James is seen on ... security cameras swaying heavily to the left as she was trying to navigate her route back across the parking areas to her car," the lawsuit says, "and it looks as if she had trouble remembering where she parked her car."

Restaurant owner George Gundrey, declined to comment Tuesday.

St. James was charged with homicide by vehicle, leaving the scene of an accident, resisting arrest, failure to yield and careless driving.

Court records show she has yet to stand trial.

Her trial was scheduled to start Sept. 1, but her attorney, Val Whitley, filed a motion asking the court to vacate the proceedings because social-distancing measures implemented in response to the coronavirus pandemic would jeopardize her right to a fair trial.

He argued in the motion that St. James wouldn't be able to communicate with him.

The 6-foot spacing between people in the courtroom and face mask mandate also means "it will be difficult for the jurors to gauge the witness' testimony because they won't be able to see the witness' face during testimony," Whitley wrote.

Whitley could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

District Attorney Marco Serna did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Archuleta's family members are seeking an unspecified amount of damages and legal costs.

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