Courtesy Photos of the vehicles involved in the crash

By Roger Lanse

On Wednesday, Dec. 23, Rhyker Grijalva, 23, of Mimbres, driving a red 1997 Ford pickup collided with a white 1996 Chevrolet pickup driven by a Silver City teenager at the intersection of E. Highway 180 and Ranch Club Road.

According to police documents and witnesses, the driver of the Chevrolet was stopped at the stoplight headed south on Ranch Club Road. As the light turned green the Chevrolet's driver began to cross Highway 180, when the Ford, traveling west on 180 at a high rate of speed, slammed into the driver's side of the Chevrolet. Both vehicles ended up in the parking lot of 1780 E. Highway 180 (Rose's Nails and Spa). A witness told police that following the crash the driver of the Ford left that vehicle and ran south toward the bowling alley.

As officers approached the Chevrolet, documents said, they observed the male driver, Douglas Rydeski, bleeding from the face, going in and out of consciousness and unable to speak.

When EMTs arrived, the documents stated, another car in the parking lot had to be moved, a tow truck had to move the Ford, and tools were required to extricate young Rydeski from his vehicle. Rydeski was taken to GRMC and according to the documents, the next day police were advised that the teenager had suffered a fractured neck, a collapsed lung and a broken spleen, and had been flown out for surgery.

On Saturday, Dec. 26, according to the documents, Grijalva turned himself in at SCPD and was to give officers a statement about the crash. Charges against Grijalva are pending, the documents said.

Robert Rydeski, the father, told the Beat that Douglas came home from an El Paso hospital on Wednesday, Dec. 30, and is healing from his injuries, which also included a broken pelvis and a ruptured bladder, rather than spleen.