A driver claims he fell asleep after taking pills. His victim was in surgery for 7 hours

A Grandview woman who broke many bones in a Christmas Eve head-on crash has grown up knowing the devastation of intoxicated driving.

Rebecca “Becki” Maloy’s father was permanently disabled in a DUI wreck in 1971, and her niece and brother-in-law were killed by a drunk driver in 2000, according to a GoFundMe account.

Now, Maloy herself is facing months of recovery after a Grandview man fell asleep at the wheel of his car, allegedly while under the influence of powerful pain pills.

Loved ones have posted on the Benton County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page that Maloy spent hours in surgery last week, but she is alive.

David Enriquez, the other driver, is charged with felony vehicular assault.

The 34-year-old recently pleaded innocent in Benton County Superior Court and has a Feb. 11 trial date. He remains in jail on $20,000 bail.

Court documents say a person in a car behind Enriquez saw the SUV drift into oncoming traffic on West County Road 12 near Prosser.

The SUV remained in the opposite lane for about 30 seconds before smashing into Maloy.

Maloy was stuck in her crumpled car for more than an hour while firefighters and paramedics worked to get her out, according to the sheriff’s office Facebook post.

That Facebook post and court documents said Maloy was taken to a Tri-City hospital for a possible broken hip and ankle. Her family later commented on the post that she suffered broken bones in both knees and legs and “busted” ankles, and required a hip replacement.

A GoFundMe page established to help Maloy with her expenses, including potential home modifications and an eventual replacement car, said she was in surgery for seven hours with two medical teams.

Her recovery is expected to take at least three months, and Maloy is the sole source of support for herself, her sister and her nephew, the fundraising site says. She did not have a current insurance policy at the time of the crash, and Enriquez reportedly was uninsured.

The site so far had raised $565 of its $15,000 goal.

Enriquez told deputies at the scene that he was on his way home following a doctor’s appointment at Prosser Memorial Health. He said he had taken some “oxys” that morning before the appointment, court documents said.

He likely was referring to oxycodone, a potent pain medication.

Enriquez also admitted drinking “some beer earlier in the day, but would not say when or how many,” documents said.

He declined to participate in field sobriety tests and stopped speaking with deputies, who noted that his eyes appeared glassy and droopy, court documents said.

A deputy took Enriquez to Trios Southridge Hospital to get a blood sample so it could be tested by a state lab.

On the drive to the Kennewick hospital, Enriquez “fell sound asleep and was snoring in the back of (the deputy’s) patrol vehicle,” documents said.

This story was originally published December 31, 2018 at 5:53 PM.