Cortez has been shaken twice by fatal drunk driving crashes since December. As family members of the victims continue to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives, they reflect on those they’ve lost.
Richard Morales, 40, a registered nurse at Northern Navajo Medical Center, was killed by a drunken driver near Shiprock on U.S. Highway 491 as he drove to his home in Cortez on Dec. 22. Family members said he was a well-loved medical professional and youth football and baseball coach.
Michael Burnison, 44, an employee of Mesa Verde National Park, was killed by a drunken driver while riding his motorcycle near Hawkins Street and East Main Street. He was known for his love of the outdoors, “boundless energy” and coaching his children’s sports teams.
The crashes took place almost exactly three months apart.
The suspects involved in both crashes face charges of vehicular homicide and await their days in court.
A family member of Morales said they have needlessly lost a loved one to an act of drunk driving, and so has the family of the suspect.
A family member of Burnison said the tragedy reveals gaps in rural resources such as public transportation and rehabilitative services that, if filled, could help prevent such tragedies.
Morales was born Sept. 24, 1985, in San Bernardino, California. He met his wife, Erin Morales, at a metal show in Albuquerque in 2006. Though he lived in Phoenix then, he was working as his brother’s “roadie.”
They were in touch almost daily for the next four or five years, Erin Morales said. She wasn’t interested in a romantic relationship at first, but said he was “so easy to talk to.”
“He later told me he knew he was going to marry me from the first night we met. He pursued me without being pushy or weird,” she said.
After being “just friends” for several years, they made their relationship official when he visited her in Belen, New Mexico.
It was an almost seamless transition, she said. Rich and her two sons immediately had a mutual respect for each other. She found out she was pregnant a few months later and shared that Rich “cried with joy.”
“He was beyond excited to be a dad,” she said.
They married in Cortez on June 10, 2012, and moved to Cortez in May 2013 to be closer to family. They both worked at Burger Boy while Rich completed nursing school.
They have five sons: Adrian, Orion, Isaac, Uriah and Ezra. Once Isaac became old enough to play sports, it wasn’t long before Rich Morales started coaching their youth baseball and football teams.
Erin Morales said it was his passion.
“He wanted to instill a love of the game in each kid he coached. He focused on teaching hard work and good sportsmanship. He had a good rapport with his kids and their parents and made an effort to really get to know each kid and helped them play up their strengths while working on strengthening their weaknesses.”
Whether it was sports, family or nursing, Erin Morales said Rich always gave his all.
“My sons and I got the best of him, and his death ripped a huge hole in our hearts and lives. As much as he gave to this community, we got his very best,” Erin Morales said. “As wonderful as Rich was, his love for people flowed from his love for Christ. He loved Jesus first and foremost.”
Morales said she knew Rich would have forgiven the driver who killed him.
“I know Richard would forgive the man who killed him, and would expect us to do the same. I'm trying,” she said.
Julia Buff, secretary of the Cortez Panthers Youth Football program, said at a Cortez City Council meeting in January Rich’s absence from the program “leaves an immeasurable void in our community.”
Casey Wade Russell, 45, of Gilbert, Arizona is facing charges of DWI, open container and second-degree felony homicide by vehicle in connection with the crash. His BRAC was reported to be 0.24. Russell is also reported to have been a fire captain at the Mesa Fire and Medical Department before the crash.
Erin said Russell’s alleged decision to drink and drive “ripped my whole life apart.”
“He took my best friend and father of my children. He took our whole world. My boys lost their hero and example of how a man should be. I lost the love of my life, my safe home, my other half, my heart and soul, and all for a stupid, preventable reason,” Morales said.
Morales added that the decision to drink and drive is one that can make an impact that lasts “forever.” The effects aren’t only felt by the families of victims either.
“I'll never get my husband back. He'll never coach again. My sons will never get to hear how proud he is of them ever again. We won't get to know what impact he could have had on another child's life,” Morales said. “Drunk drivers aren't the only ones who have to pay the consequences of their actions. So do their families and the victims and their families. The consequences don't ever go away either. I'll be paying the price for another person's choices for the rest of my life.”
Burnison was born on Jan. 3, 1982, in Pensacola, Florida. In 2010, he moved to Colorado from Navarre, Florida, where he grew up.
“It’s difficult to concisely express who Michael was. He was so diverse in his interests, talents, joys and adventures,” Burnison’s brother-in-law, Jonathan Pressley, said in a eulogy provided to The Journal. “The best way to sum up Michael is that he loved life. He loved his family. He loved his friends. And he loved to experience all this world had to offer. He was always present and in the moment.”
Burnison was described as a multifaceted athlete and artist in his youth who enjoyed baseball, basketball, golf, skateboarding, surfing, skiing, hunting and fishing. He was also creative, with talents in piano, woodworking, jewelry making, sketching and painting.
“He loved working with his hands and had a natural curiosity for how things work,” Pressley said.
His life changed when he relocated to Southwest Colorado. After living in a cabin along the Dolores River, he settled in Cortez in 2011. There he met his partner, Veeann Roberts, and together they raised three children: Lily, Mikayla and Jacob.
“Mike and I met at a restaurant that we were both working at,” Roberts said. “He was a cook, and I was a server. It took him a while, but he finally convinced me to go out with him.”
Together, the family shared a love of camping, gardening, cooking, sports and outdoor adventures.
“Mike was our family’s rock,” Roberts shared with The Journal. “He was the sole provider because he wanted our children to always have a parent at home with them. I am so grateful that he gave me the opportunity to be a stay-at-home parent for so long. He brought humor to our lives. He was always telling jokes and trying to make us laugh every single day. We’ve missed his humor and jokes.”
Burnison was deeply involved in the Cortez community. He played coed softball with Roberts and coached his children’s teams with “youthful exuberance” – sometimes in costume.
In 2019, he found his “ideal career” at Mesa Verde National Park, where he worked in multiple roles with the Mesa Verde Association, most recently as manager. While there, he even worked alongside his daughter, Lily, and cousin.
“His career with the Mesa Verde Association wasn’t just another job for him. He had pure joy for it and his Mesa Verde co-workers felt like extended family for him,” Pressley said.
Pressley shared that the most important thing for Burnison was his family, whether that was his immediate family, Cortez family, softball family or work family.
“Michael treated everyone as family, and all could feel his presence and joy for life,” Pressley said.
“There is a Mike-sized hole in our lives that nothing can fix, but with the love and support of our family and friends we’ll learn to move on, but never forget,” Roberts added.
Michael Burnison’s brother, Daniel Burnison, spoke to the Journal about the dangers of drunk driving.
“People need to understand that when they make the decision to drink and drive, they’re not just gambling with their own life and freedom,” Burnison said. “Because of one selfish decision, our family will spend the rest of our lives grieving someone who should still be with us.”
Roberts also shared her thoughts on drunken driving, adding that additional resources in rural areas like Cortez are needed to help combat it. She noted the “unreliable to nonexistent” public transportation, “inconsistent” sidewalks and the difficulty and expense of receiving rehab and counseling services.
“Drunk driving is by far the most guaranteed path to get in an accident,” Roberts said. “I worry this is an awful problem that’ll just keep snowballing and getting worse without the resources to stop it.”
Shandine John, 33, is the alleged driver in the crash with Burnison. The crash followed a REDDI report, and a blood draw following showed that John had a BRAC of 0.28.
She is facing charges of vehicular homicide, DUI, careless driving causing death, driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08% or more and driving while license revoked under express consent.
bduran@the-journal.com
