While it seemed early on that the man charged with killing four teenagers in a drunken-driving crash last summer would probably accept a plea deal, the case now appears likely to go to trial late this spring.

Dan Cron, lawyer for 28-year-old Scott Owens of Eldorado, said recently that while he has spoken regularly with the District Attorney's Office, no plea agreement has been reached in the case.

"Both sides are preparing for trial," Cron said. "It's fair to say that at this point there are some issues from our point of view that are unresolved."

Cron declined to be specific.

Deputy District Attorney Doug Couleur repeatedly declined to talk about the case Tuesday, answering "no comment" to each question related to the Owens case.

Owens' blood alcohol content was recorded at 0.16, — twice the legal driving limit — and he was accused of driving on the wrong side of Old Las Vegas Highway on June 28 when his vehicle collided with a 1992 Subaru sedan driven by Avree Koffman, 16, of Santa Fe. Sheriff Greg Solano has said Owens turned back into his lane at the same time Koffman tried to avoid a head-on collision and also steered into his lane. Owens' vehicle slammed into the Subaru's passenger compartment.

Koffman was seriously injured but survived. Her four passengers — Kate Klein, Julian Martinez, Alyssa Trouw, all 16, and Rose Simmons, 15 — did not.

Owens remains in custody at the Santa Fe County jail. He has pleaded not guilty to four counts of vehicular homicide and one count of causing great bodily injury by vehicle.

Back in October, Cron filed a motion saying he and prosecutors were talking about a deal in which Owens would plead guilty to unspecified charges connected to the crash. Couleur confirmed the negotiations at the time and said a plea would provide several benefits, including providing Koffman and the victims' families with closure without the pain of a trial.

Now, it appears the case is headed for trial, currently scheduled for May 18 in front of state District Judge MIchael Vigil.

Over the objections of District Attorney Angela "Spence" Pacheco, Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano released to The New Mexican a heavily redacted version of his agency's complete report into the Owens crash. Much of the non-redacted information contained in the report had already been released or, in the case of documents like the autopsy reports, are available from other sources.

Statements from teen witnesses who were riding in other cars in a late-night caravan from Santa Fe to Eldorado led by Koffman that night are blacked out in the report.

The scant information not previously released includes the fact that the first paramedics on the scene that night near Arroyo Hondo told deputies "that an odor of alcoholic beverage had been detected emitting from (Koffman's) vehicle," according to a report by Santa Fe County Sgt. Joe McLaughlin. The sergeant then sent a deputy to University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, where Koffman was flown, to try and determine her sobriety, the report states.

When Deputy Brian Nissen arrived at the hospital, McLaughlin told him to arrest Koffman based on the information that paramedics detected alcohol "emitting from Koffman's breath," McLaughlin's report says later. Nissen's report, however, says McLaughlin instructed him "to arrest Koffman on careless driving being that her vehicle had been found to have crossed left of the center line." However, it appears the main motivation for arresting Koffman was to obtain a sample of her blood for testing, the reports indicate.

Nissen attempted to smell Koffman's breath during a lull in her treatment that night, but she was on a respirator and he could not, according to his report.

Blood tests later determined Koffman had not been drinking. Autopsy reports also later found that none of the passengers had been drinking alcohol, although Simmons and Martinez tested positive for marijuana. Martinez also had a "smoking pipe" in his pocket, according to the autopsy report.

Koffman tested positive for marijuana metabolites, although investigators believe she was sober at the time of the crash.

Investigators later found a champagne cork and an empty Heineken 12-pack in trunk of Koffman's car, according to the report. They also found a pipe, marijuana, an empty beer can and an unopened 12-pack of beer in Owens' car.

The report indicates that crash investigators, including McLaughlin, didn't calculate a reconstruction of the collision.

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