New Mexico law enforcement nabs drunk driver fugitive

Last week, New Mexico law enforcement officials took into custody one of our state’s most wanted DWI fugitives. According to a media report, police said Thomas Frank was drunk when he was captured.

He had been released following his seventh arrest for drunken driving. Officials say that many DWI fugitives are people who drove while drunk and caused accidents resulting in serious injuries or death of other motorists.

Some are repeat offenders, police say, and are considered likely to cause yet another accident and do more damage, an Albuquerque TV station reports.

Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) says that up to three quarters of all convicted drunken drivers continue driving after their licenses are suspended. The group also notes that a study released three years showed that 28.7 million people admit that they have driven while under the influence of alcohol.

The population of New Mexico is just above 2 million, while Las Cruces has a population of a bit more than 101,000.

The group known for zero tolerance of drunken drivers has a wide range of facts, statistics and information about fighting DWIs on its website, including:

• Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that every two minutes, someone somewhere in the United States is injured by an intoxicated driver
• On average, 27 people per day die a as result of drunk drivers
• The average drunken driver has been behind the wheel drunk more than 80 times before they are first arrested

With the help of an experienced personal injury lawyer, Las Cruces residents who suffer injuries caused by drunk drivers can pursue full and fair compensation for all damages.