The man accused of causing the crash that killed four Santa Fe teenagers last month had a blood-alcohol level twice the legal driving limit, sources said Monday.

The driver of the car carrying the teens — 16-year-old Avree Koffman — had no alcohol in her system when her car was struck, said Deborah Busemeyer, spokeswoman for the state Department of Health, which conducted the blood tests.

Scott Owens, the 27-year-old who police say was driving the wrong way on Old Las Vegas Highway when he hit the teens' car, had a blood-alcohol content of .16, according to testing of blood drawn from him at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center nearly four hours after the crash.

The deadly collision occurred just after midnight June 28. Court documents show state District Judge Michael Vigil didn't sign a search warrant allowing sampling Owens' blood until 3:37 a.m.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano said the actual blood draw took place at 3:47 a.m.

A deputy reported that when he arrived at the crash scene, Owens had bloodshot, watery eyes, smelled of alcohol, slurred his speech and was unsteady on his feet, according to court documents.

Owens, who is being held on four counts of vehicular homicide, allegedly was driving his 1992 Jeep Cherokee in the wrong lane near Bobcat Bite before he smashed into the passenger side of the 1992 Subaru sedan driven by Koffman.

Four passengers in Koffman's car — Julian Martinez, 16, Kate Klein, 16, Alyssa Trouw, 16 and Rose Simmons, 15 — died instantly. Koffman is recovering from injuries at University Hospital in Albuquerque.

District Attorney Angela "Spence" Pacheco said Saturday that she wouldn't release the blood-alcohol content on either driver because of the pre-trial publicity it would generate. However, she changed her mind Monday after the state Health Department confirmed the blood test results to The New Mexican, Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano said. Pacheco declined to comment Monday, and Deputy District Attorney Doug Couleur didn't return a phone message seeking comment.

Owens remains incarcerated at the Santa Fe County jail in lieu of a $3 million cash-only bond.

Dan Cron, a local defense attorney, confirmed Monday that he had been retained to represent Owens. Cron declined to comment on Owens' blood-alcohol content because he hadn't yet seen any evidence in the case.

"I think the only thing I can say at this point is that it's an unspeakable tragedy for this community," he said. "What we're trying to do at this point is find out the truth. The defense in this case will be based on the truth."

Cron said he has talked to Owens at the jail. He said Owens was "extremely distraught" and spent three-quarters of the time they spoke crying. The only aspect of the case Cron would discuss was Owens' original jail booking photo, which showed him smiling or smirking and sparked a significant amount of criticism from the community.

Cron said jail personnel told Owens to smile during the booking process, which is why he is shown smiling in the photo. Owens later asked jail officials to retake the photo, which they agreed to do, the lawyer said. The image now posted on the jail's Web site depicts Owens with a serious expression.

On Monday, investigators finished searching Owens' vehicle, though Santa Fe County Undersheriff Robert Garcia declined to release what was found until results of a search warrant are filed today in state District Court.

Another search warrant, filed Thursday, said Owens told investigators that he bought a 12-pack of Coors Light beer at Quik Stop, 2774 Sawmill Road, between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. June 27.

Yet another search warrant filed last week said Owens' boss at a welding company told investigators that he and Owens each bought a 12-pack at a convenience store near Eldorado that night. The boss also said he bought a half-pint of vodka. The boss, Paul Esquivel, later told The New Mexican that he and Owens didn't drink one of the 12-packs or the vodka, and that five people drank beers from the other 12-pack.

Garcia said Monday that investigators hadn't yet determined exactly what was purchased where. He also said investigators hadn't yet searched Koffman's car.

The girl's father, Dan Koffman, said Monday that his daughter doesn't remember the accident and may never remember it. He said a University Hospital psychiatrist on Sunday told her about her friends' deaths for the first time. He said she was distraught and upset but later asked for a pen to write out her feelings.

Avree Koffman suffered a fractured skull, fractured pelvis, a brain injury, numerous cuts and bruises and a chemical burn to her right arm, her father said. The burn probably came from battery acid in Owens' Jeep, which likely flew out during the crash, he said.

The brain injury is of the most concern, Dan Koffman said, because it appears to be affecting her short-term memory. She often isn't able to remember what someone said to her, he said, but doctors think she will probably recover.

Otherwise, she is getting stronger every day with the support of her friends and family, including her mother, who came in from Austin, Texas, Dan Koffman said.

He said he is grateful for the Santa Fe community's support for both him and his daughter, and he encouraged people to write cards and letters to her in care of the Santa Fe Reporter, where he works.

"I'm hoping to tie Avree's recovery to the community's recovery," he said, adding that he didn't know how long his daughter might be in the hospital.

Dan Koffman said he doesn't feel negatively toward Owens, though that may be mainly because he doesn't have the energy to feel anything about him at all.

Contact Jason Auslander at 986-3076 or :jauslander@sfnewmexican.com.