Not all collisions are straightforward; mistakes can be made, but when drugs could have been involved, the facts can start to be skewed. For instance, if you smoke marijuana, which is legal in Colorado for those over 18, the drug stays in your system much longer than just a few hours. It will be picked up on tests days later. Even being exposed to second-hand smoke can result in results that aren’t completely truthful.
A teen driver involved in a fatal driving under the influence collision has been charged with vehicular homicide and being intoxicated by marijuana, according to a May 25 report. The teen, then 17, has been accused of driving into a stopped vehicle. The people inside that vehicle were killed.
Now, he’s been charged with four counts of vehicular homicide, and prosecutors have alleged that he was under the influence of marijuana. The teen is being prosecuted as a juvenile, and shockingly, while the police and courts would not release his name due to his age, the news and media has done so, potentially harming his reputation despite the case not having gone to trial.
The teen turned himself in and has appeared in court; he’s been charged with reckless driving and for driving under the influence of drugs. That led to four counts of homicide despite only two people being killed. The Boulder County court has also determined that he must be charged with improper lane change, running a red light, DUI (drugs) and reckless driving, all of which will be filed in the Boulder County court, which will not allow the charges to be filed against the teen as a juvenile.
The teen has no criminal history. The crash itself took place when the teen rear-ended a 2010 Honda Fit at a red light in the right-hand turn lane. He also struck a 2008 Dodge Ram. The police claim the teen barely braked before the collision and had been traveling at least 45 mph. They have not said if he took a sobriety test at the scene, but he was taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries.
Source: Daily Camera Boulder News, “Teen driver charged with vehicular homicide, DUI in fatal Boulder crash,” Mitchell Byars, May 25, 2016