Booze suspected in worker’s death
Foreman had 5 DWIs when co-worker plunged
from I-40 bridge

ABOVE: Gallup Fire Department and Med Star Ambulance officials wheel Benny Duboise, 31, of Manuelito, to a waiting ambulance. Duboise later died of his injuries. BELOW: Leonard Yazzie is arrested by Gallup Police Lt. Gerald Tholund on Wednesday for a DWI. Yazzie, who is an employee with A.S. Horner Construction, was allegedly drinking on the job when a co-worker, Benny Duboise, 31, of Manuelito, fell of the interstate bridge above Second Street. Yazzie fled the scene in a company truck and was stopped on Maloney Avenue and arrested. [photos by Brian Leddy / Independent]

By Leslie Wood
Staff writer

GALLUP — A 31-year-old employee of an A.S. Horner Construction crew fell to his death Wednesday while stationed on top of the Second Street bridge along Interstate Highway 40.

Manuelito resident Bennie Duboise was taken by ambulance to Gallup Indian Medical Center for treatment of critical injuries at about 6:40 p.m. He died at the hospital minutes after 7 p.m.

Lt. Rick White, a spokesman for the Gallup Police Department, said the investigation into the fall is ongoing, but Duboise was in the company of A.S. Horner co-workers when he fell 20-plus feet onto the concrete roadway on north Second Street.

“Witnesses said he fell off the bridge,” White said.

White explained detectives’ investigation revealed that at least four of the crewman, including Duboise and foreman Leonard Yazzie, were drinking alcohol prior to the fall.

The crew was prepared to leave for the day when Duboise was walking along a metal beam and fell. He was not wearing protective gear.

Jail Warden Donna Goodrich said Duboise was recently released from detention for a drunken driving offense.

White said the foreman, Yazzie, was arrested Wednesday evening on drunken driving charges as he drove from the construction site unaware of his co-worker’s fatal fall.

Officers reported that Yazzie was driving in an erratic manner and has been arrested for DWI on repeated occasions. According to jail records, Wednesday’s arrest marks Yazzie’s sixth alcohol-related arrest.

Officers also took photos of the scene and blocked off both entrances to the area from oncoming traffic to complete their inquiry.

The construction crew was assigned to work on the Interstate 40 bridge on north Second Street when the incident occurred. Many of the crew members specialize in welding.

Officials from several agencies, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the New Mexico Department of Transportation, are also conducting an investigation into the fall and drinking on the job site.

White said officers recovered bottles of alcohol at the scene.