A police checkpoint at Cerrillos and Cristo's roads planned for this weekend isn't the stealthy kind that springs up after dark with no notice. It's the kind the police are advertising in hopes of deterring drunken drivers.

One year ago today, two sisters from Naschitti died at this location near the Santa Fe Auto Park while returning home from a state basketball tournament. A drunken driver rear-ended the car they were riding in with their parents.

Descansos mark the scene where Deshauna and Del Lynn Peshlakai were killed. The sisters were in town for the opening round of the Class AAA state basketball tournament at the Santa Fe Indian School, where the Lady Braves were playing the Newcomb Lady Skyhawks. Deshauna, 17, was on the Newcomb High School team; Del Lynn, 19, a 2008 graduate and former team player, was there to cheer her on. Shortly after Newcomb lost the game, the pair also lost their lives.

James Ruiz, the 34-year old Albuquerque driver accused of causing the crash, had multiple previous DWI offenses. When hospital workers drew his blood late that night, he had a blood-alcohol content of .22. A driver with a level of .08 is considered too drunk to drive.

Santa Fe police Sgt. Alan Mascarenas said it's unusual for police to announce the exact location of a planned checkpoint, but he noted that the advance publicity isn't likely to change the evening's outcome.

"The real drunk people will just come through," he said. "Checkpoints are always pretty much the same. It's about education of the public. We don't get that many arrests during checkpoints; but, if we can educate people, maybe we can prevent future DWIs."

Darlene Peshlakai, the girls' mother, participated in a drunk-driving checkpoint on Christmas Eve near Chinle, Ariz., where she handed out awareness ribbons.

"If it saved even one life, I would be so grateful," she told The Navajo Times a few days later. "If sharing the effects of losing our two babies can help another family, then our suffering isn't for nothing."

The first round of the state tournament was Friday night.

Last year, Santa Fe Indian School went on to take the state title and dedicated the victory to the Peshlakai family.

Vehicular homicide charges against Ruiz are still pending. A trial before state District Judge Michael Vigil is set to begin in May. The family has filed a civil lawsuit against Blue Corn Cafe & Brewery alleging that the restaurant sold alcohol to Ruiz before the crash, even though he was already intoxicated.

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.