ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A New Mexico state senator expressed surprise when he learned he was being arrested on a drunken driving charge, slurring his speech as he lay in an emergency room and saying to an officer, “Are you serious? Jesus Christ.”
The comments from Sen. Richard Martinez, D-Espanola, appeared in police lapel video released Monday. Police said he crashed his Mercedes SUV on Friday night into the back of a vehicle that had two people inside stopped at a red light in Espanola, north of Santa Fe.
The video showed Martinez’s vehicle smashed in the front, while the Jeep he hit sustained less damage. The driver of the other vehicle held his neck and told police he was going to throw up, officers said.
