After being charged with vehicular assault last year, the wife of the Aurora, Colorado, fire chief is slated to receive sentencing next month.
The Aurora Sentinel reports that Adriene Garcia pleaded guilty to reckless vehicular assault last month and was originally expected to be sentenced on February 20 until an Araphoe County judge decided to push that date to April 3. According to the source, the reason given for the delay was so that "court officials could determine if Garcia was eligible to serve her sentence at a halfway house."
Garcia was charged following an incident on May 14, 2014. At about 10:20 p.m. that night, Garcia had been driving her Nissan Pathfinder on East Yale Avenue when she collided into the back of a blue Hyundai. The Hyundai's three occupants — a male driver and two children — were injured in the crash. One of the children was subsequently hospitalized for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
Garcia immediately fled the scene of the accident but was soon picked up by police. She was charged with vehicular assault (a class 5 felony), leaving the scene of an accident involving serious bodily injury (a class 4 felony) and reckless driving. After pleading guilty to the vehicular assault this past January, Garcia faces up to three years in prison, though most sentences in similar cases only end in probation.
Car accidents are frightening experiences, making it common for anxious drivers to want get away as fast as possible. This gut reaction, though, can land accused drivers in even more hot water than they would have been already, as charges of vehicular assault and fleeing the scene can have defendants looking at possibilities of jail time, steep fines and a revoked license.
To ensure you're armed with the best possible legal counsel to defend your case, contact The Orr Law Firm today.