The District Attorney's Office filed four counts of vehicular homicide and one count of causing great bodily harm Wednesday against the 29-year-old Eldorado man accused of killing four teenagers in June while driving drunk.

Scott Owens, who remains in the Santa Fe County jail, waived his right to a preliminary hearing or having his case considered by a grand jury — the two usual methods of criminally charging a defendant, according to court documents.

A plea deal is still possible for Owens, though the case also might go to trial, said Deputy District Attorney Doug Couleur. Court documents filed earlier this month indicated that Couleur and Owens' attorney were working on a pre-indictment plea deal.

Owens allegedly was driving in the wrong lane of Old Las Vegas Highway just after midnight June 28 when he ran into a car carrying five Santa Fe teens. Julian Martinez, Alyssa Trouw and Kate Klein — all 16 — as well as 15-year-old Rose Simmons, died at the scene. Avree Koffman, the 16-year-old driver of the car carrying the teens, was seriously injured but survived. Tests later showed that Koffman was not intoxicated.

Owens' blood-alcohol content nearly four hours after the crash was measured at .16, twice the legal driving limit. All five of the charges filed against him Wednesday in state District Court indicate that he was driving drunk at the time of the crash.

Time limits governing the Owens case have been extended four times since the crash. Negotiations between Owens' lawyer, Dan Cron, and prosecutors on a plea have been the main reason for the delays, according to Couleur and court documents.

The case has been assigned to District Judge Stephen Pfeffer.

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