A 25-year-old man recently pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter for an accident that occurred last year. He has been sentenced to five years in jail for causing the fatal accident. When he finishes with the jail sentence, the Colorado man will be required to serve a 36-month parole sentence, 48 community service hours and other penalties.
According to prosecutors, the man was driving under the influence at the time of the crash. He was also trying to use a GPS device while driving the vehicle, which caused him to strike part of the side of the roadway. The vehicle subsequently went out of control, slammed back into the side of the roadway and flipped.
A female passenger was ejected from the vehicle through the sunroof. She was tragically crushed and killed as a result. The driver and another male passenger survived the accident. They were taken to the hospital for medical treatment.
The two survivors apparently offered different versions of the facts. The driver who was convicted tried to convince police that his passenger was the one who was driving the car. However, the passenger disagreed. Eventually, investigators used blood evidence taken from different areas of the car to prove where everyone had been sitting.
It is important for police to establish who is at fault in a Colorado fatal accident case. This allows the criminal justice system to proceed to determine issues regarding any criminal charges, but it also permits family members of a deceased victim (as well as anyone seriously injured in an accident) to seek restitution for financial losses stemming from such a tragedy. Monetary damages can include compensation for pain and suffering, end of life expenses and even loss of future income.
Source: dailycamera.com, Driver in fatal Diagonal Highway rollover sentenced to 5 years in prison, Mitchell Byars, Dec. 20, 2013
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