A driver has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after a multi-vehicle crash last weekend left eight people — including five children — hospitalized.
According to KWGN-TV News, the accident occurred on Sunday night, March 8, near the Sloan's Lake neighborhood of Denver. An Edgewater police department spokesperson stated that a Mercury Mountaineer had been driving southbound on Sheridan Avenue when it collided with another vehicle at the intersection with West 17th Avenue. The crash sent the Mountaineer flipping upside down, striking two other cars in the process.
All told, eight people — one man, two women and three children, including one 4-year-old — were injured in the crash and subsequently sent to a hospital for treatment. The driver allegedly responsible, identified as a 33-year-old woman from Commerce City, had "suffered major, life-threatening head injuries" from the accident.
"Police say the driver of the Mountaineer is facing charges of vehicular assault, reckless driving, driving under the influence, operating a vehicle with a revoked license and operating a vehicle while a habitual traffic offender," the news source writes.
Officials had the crash site closed for approximately five hours as they investigated the accident.
While a DUI in Colorado may be initially treated as a misdemeanor, that charge can quickly become upgraded to a felony if it includes criminal traffic offenses like vehicular assault — and with that comes a significantly harsher range of punishments, including fines, loss of license and years of jail time.
For the best legal counsel that can defend your case from the prosecution, contact the attorneys at The Orr Law Firm today.