NEWS RELEASE
OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY
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The District Attorney’s Office is strongly committed to traffic safety, especially the prosecution of driving offenses resulting in serious bodily injury or death. In every vehicular fatality, law enforcement is responsible for conducting the investigation and then presenting the case to the District Attorney’s Office. These cases are a priority for the District Attorney’s Office.
Crash investigations by law enforcement often involve the testing of blood samples for toxicology results, crash reconstruction, mechanical inspections of the vehicles, analysis of the speeds travelled and the directionality for each vehicle, and witness interviews. These complex investigations by law enforcement, including the blood analysis by the state’s Colorado Bureau of Investigation, usually take several months. When the law enforcement agency completes their investigation, their findings are then presented to the District Attorney’s Office for possible criminal charges. The District Attorney’s Office carefully evaluates what charges should be filed, if any.
On April 9, 2022, a three-car crash took place near Foothills Parkway and Valmont Road. Tragically, two individuals lost their lives and another victim suffered significant injuries. The Colorado State Patrol (CSP) handled this investigation. On June 14, 2022, CSP presented their investigation to the District Attorney.
On June 22, 2022, the following charges were filed against the juvenile driver: Vehicular Homicide (two counts), Vehicular Assault, Driving Under the Influence, Driving with Excessive Alcohol Content, Driving on the Wrong Side of a Divided Highway, and Minor in Possession of Alcohol. Under C.R.S. 19-1-304 (b.7), the law strictly prohibits the District Attorney’s Office from releasing the juvenile’s name, date of birth, or photograph.
District Attorney Michael Dougherty stated, “This crash was terrible and had tragic consequences. When I met with the families of the victims and the woman who was injured, we talked about the losses and the trauma that this crash has caused. The District Attorney’s Office is fully committed to securing the right result in this case.”
Investigators from the Colorado State Patrol, Liquor Enforcement Division, and District Attorney’s Office have been working closely to identify the adults and young people who have additional information about the alcohol purchase and consumption on the night of the crash. Our office strongly encourages individuals to cooperate voluntarily with the investigation into how these two people were killed. That investigation remains active.
As in every criminal case, these charges are merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty
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