Joaquin Quiñones, 27, had crammed eight passengers into his small VW Sedan following a family party in the early hours of Saturday, March 7.
At around 3:15 a.m. he lost control of the car as it sped along Avenida Adolfo B. Horn toward Tlajomulco. The VW veered off the road and ended up face down in Las Pintas Canal.
Only Quiñones and one of the passengers were able to get out of the car. His sister and brother-in-law, their children, aged 4 and 7, drowned inside the vehicle, as did a friend, aged 32, and his children aged 5 and 3.
But traffic officials who arrived at the accident scene failed to test Quiñones for his blood alcohol content until after 5 p.m. His reading was 145 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood, only five milligrams within the level that permitted him bail.
In his declaration to the Ministerio Publico, Quiñones admitted to drinking 12 beers during the party, which started at around 8 p.m. the previous evening.
Quiñones stated that he lost control of his car after “feeling dizzy.”
Alcohol is eliminated from the body at the rate of around 20 milligrams an hour.
Semov Traffic Director Ana Laura Chavez admitted that officers must act “immediately” to identify the exact degree of inebriation of drivers following accidents.
At press time Quiñones was still being detained, while lawyers worked for his release.