KWES NewsWest 9 / Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, TX: newswest9.com | MVD says wrong-way driver had valid licensed

MVD says wrong-way driver had valid licensed

Associated Press - July 10, 2009 6:05 PM ET

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - A Santa Fe County sheriff's report says a wrong-way driver who plowed into a carload of teenagers, killing four, had an expired license, but the state Motor Vehicle Division announced Friday that the license was in fact valid.

The report released Thursday said 27-year-old Scott Owens' license expired in January.

However, the MVD said Owens had renewed his license in November and received a temporary license with a Jan. 9, 2009, expiration date. A permanent license with an expiration date of Nov. 9, 2012, was mailed to him in December but the expiration date was never updated in MVD records.

Taxation and Revenue Secretary Rick Homans, who oversees MVD, said the error is being investigated. He said it likely happened when the MVD's computer server was down.

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