One man has been accused of drinking and driving in Colorado. Police said his decision to drive while under the influence of alcohol caused the deaths of two women. The 18-year-old man now faces DUI charges.
The man reportedly T-boned one woman’s vehicle while the woman was attempting to turn left from one street onto another. Both of the women in the car were thrown from the vehicle. They both passed away in the crash.
The man was taken into custody after police suspected that he was intoxicated. They said his eyes were bloodshot and he smelled like alcohol. He currently faces a total of eight charges, including DUI vehicular homicide (two counts), vehicular homicide caused by reckless driving (two counts), possessing a forged instrument (one count), DUI (one count), consuming or possessing alcohol while under 21 (one count), and reckless driving (one count). A bond of $100,000 was set for the man.
Colorado prosecutors have a duty to prove the man’s DUI charges beyond a reasonable doubt before he can be criminally convicted. Defense counsel might consider pursuing negotiations for a plea deal, which may lead to a lighter sentence than what may be imposed if the defendant were to be found guilty at trial. The criminal defense may also question the accuracy of any field sobriety test that may have been conducted following the accident, in an attempt to defend the client against the DUI charges and other criminal charges. The criminal defense’s goal is to achieve the best outcome for the defendant while simultaneously making sure that his rights are upheld during the criminal proceedings.
Source: 9news.com, “Teen charged after deadly DUI crash“, Blair Shiff, April 7, 2016