Police: Alcohol A Possible Factor In Deadly Las Cruces Wreck

“I can’t wait to see you and my kids. I’ll see you guys in a few minutes.”

Those were the last words Carmen Padilla would ever hear from Benjamin Baca, the father of her two children. Baca and his cousin Derrick Lopez were killed in a crash minutes later.

Relatives say Baca have arrived from Dallas on Sunday to attend his grandfather’s funeral in Las Cruces.

During a gathering, Baca and Lopez left to buy cigarettes at a local store.

New Mexico State Police say Lopez was driving and rear-ended a Jeep at a traffic light.

Police say he attempted to flee the wreck, but lost control and hit a wall outside the Dove Canyon Trailer Park. Police say alcohol might have been a factor in the crash.

ABC-7 asked the cousins? uncle Preciliano Lopez if they had been drinking, he said he wasn’t sure.

“I really don’t know,? Lopez said. ?I only hear they were going to get cigarettes and they would be right back. After that, I don’t know if they were or not.”

Investigators say toxicology results will show if Lopez was driving under the influence.

In the meantime, Padilla will have to explain to her children where their father is.

“I try to tell him his dad is in heaven. He’s not coming back. He’ll see him one day.”

Baca and Lopez will be buried on Saturday at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens Cemetery.