By ASSOCIATED PRESS
February 5, 2007
ALBUQUERQUE -- An Illinois tractor-trailer driver left a path of destruction in northwest Albuquerque on Sunday in what authorities were calling a "meth-induced rage."
Eric Dubach, 28, of Mount Vernon, Ill., caused a half-million dollars in damage when he drove his truck through fences, rammed parked vehicles, homes and businesses, and ran over signs around 4:30 a.m., said Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White.
Dubach, who told authorities that he snorted a "couple of grams" of methamphetamine before going on the joyride, said he didn't like Albuquerque and wanted to mess it up, White said.
At one point, Dubach forced another truck parked in the driveway of a home through the garage door, White said. Dubach then backed up and eventually was stopped when he drove through a retaining wall, the sheriff said.
At least four homes, five businesses and 24 cars -- some of them totaled -- were damaged, White said.
"If you could see it, it was like a tornado that went through this small community," he said. "There would be homes where every car in the driveway was smashed, and then the next two homes went unscathed. It was complete hit and miss."
Dubach was charged with 29 counts of criminal damage to property. He was being held at the Bernalillo Metropolitan Detention Center on a $100,000 cash-only bond.