Boulder County Vehicular Assault and Vehicular Homicide Defense Lawyer
A crash becomes a criminal case faster than most people realize. When someone is seriously injured or killed and investigators believe alcohol, drugs, or reckless driving played a role, Colorado prosecutors move quickly and with purpose. A charge of vehicular assault or vehicular homicide in Boulder County carries the weight of a felony conviction, years in prison, and consequences that follow a person for the rest of their life. Reid DeChant defends people facing these charges with the same tenacity he has brought to serious felony cases across Denver, Adams, Broomfield, Jefferson, and Douglas counties.
What Separates Vehicular Assault from Vehicular Homicide Under Colorado Law
Colorado’s vehicular assault statute, C.R.S. 18-3-205, applies when a driver causes serious bodily injury to another person while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or while driving in a reckless manner. Serious bodily injury has a specific legal meaning, covering injuries that involve a substantial risk of death, permanent disfigurement, or prolonged loss or impairment of a body part or organ. A broken bone, a traumatic brain injury, or a spinal injury can all qualify. The charge is a class 4 felony when alcohol or drugs are involved, carrying two to six years in prison and $2,000 to $500,000 in fines. The reckless variety is a class 5 felony, carrying one to three years and similar fine exposure.
Vehicular homicide under C.R.S. 18-3-106 applies when a person is killed. The DUI version is a class 3 felony, the most serious tier outside of the most aggravated homicide charges, and carries four to twelve years in the Department of Corrections. The reckless driving version is a class 4 felony. Both carry mandatory parole periods and lifetime consequences for driving privileges. Unlike manslaughter or homicide charges that require intent to harm, vehicular homicide only requires proof of the manner of driving and the causal connection to the death. That lower threshold makes prosecution easier, but it also leaves meaningful room for challenge.
How These Cases Are Built, and Where the Evidence Gets Complicated
Vehicular assault and homicide prosecutions are reconstructed events. By the time a defense attorney gets involved, the original scene is gone. What remains is accident reconstruction reports, blood draw results, toxicology analysis, dashcam or bodycam footage, cell tower data, and witness statements taken under pressure at the scene. Each of those pieces has its own vulnerability.
Accident reconstruction is not physics. It involves assumptions, models, and inputs that can be disputed. The person generating the report works for the prosecution. An independent review of the same data can sometimes produce materially different conclusions about speed, point of impact, and which vehicle’s movement caused the collision.
Blood draw results are particularly significant in the DUI version of these charges. Colorado’s express consent law requires chemical testing, and a BAC above 0.08 creates a presumption of impairment. But the gap between when a crash occurred and when blood was drawn matters. Retrograde extrapolation, used to estimate what a person’s BAC was at the time of driving rather than at the time of the draw, involves assumptions that toxicologists disagree about. Chain of custody errors, improper storage, and lab protocol failures are all legitimate lines of inquiry. Reid has focused his training and experience on DUI defense specifically, and the evidentiary issues that apply in a standard DUI case do not disappear because the stakes are higher.
Causation is also a real issue in these cases. A person can be impaired at the time of a crash and still not be the cause of it. Another driver’s negligence, a road condition, a mechanical failure, or a pedestrian’s own actions may have contributed to or caused the collision. The prosecution must connect the manner of driving to the harm, not simply show that a person had alcohol or drugs in their system when something terrible happened.
Boulder County Courts and Local Roads Where These Charges Arise
Vehicular assault and homicide cases in Boulder County are prosecuted in the 20th Judicial District, with proceedings held at the Boulder County Justice Center on Canyon Boulevard. The Boulder County District Attorney’s office handles these matters as serious violent felonies, and they typically receive significant investigative resources from the Boulder Police Department, the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, and the Colorado State Patrol.
Collisions resulting in these charges often occur on U.S. 36 between Boulder and Denver, on the stretch of Highway 119 running through the foothills toward Longmont, and on Highway 93 between Boulder and Golden. Canyon Boulevard and 28th Street through Boulder itself see high-traffic crash events, particularly late at night or during events at Folsom Field. The Diagonal Highway connecting Boulder to Longmont is another corridor where serious accidents occur with regularity. Knowing where these incidents happen, and which agencies respond and investigate, matters when evaluating how evidence was collected and whether protocols were followed.
Questions That Come Up Repeatedly in These Cases
Can I face both vehicular homicide charges and a DUI charge from the same incident?
Yes. Colorado prosecutors routinely file multiple charges from a single crash, including both the vehicular homicide count and the underlying DUI charge. Each carries its own penalty range, and prosecutors may use the additional charge as leverage during negotiations. Understanding how the charges interact, and which ones carry mandatory minimums, matters when evaluating any plea offer.
Is vehicular homicide treated the same as second-degree murder in terms of sentencing?
No. Vehicular homicide carries a lower presumptive sentencing range than second-degree murder, but it still carries significant mandatory prison time, especially the DUI version. Aggravating factors, including a prior DUI conviction or prior vehicular offenses, can push sentences well above the presumptive range. The court retains some discretion, but judges in these cases frequently sentence toward the higher end.
What happens to my driver’s license when I am charged with vehicular homicide?
The Colorado DMV can move against your license independently of the criminal case. If the underlying conduct involves DUI, you face both the criminal proceedings and a DMV express consent revocation action. DeChant Law handles both tracks, and a failure to request a hearing within the required window results in automatic revocation. Time matters on the DMV side even when criminal proceedings are moving slowly.
What if the other driver was also at fault?
Comparative fault does not operate the same way in a criminal case as it does in a civil one. But if another party’s actions contributed to the crash, that directly challenges the causation element the prosecution must prove. Evidence of the other driver’s speed, their own impairment, or traffic control violations can become central to the defense theory and to cross-examination at trial.
Does a prior DUI conviction change anything about how these charges are prosecuted?
It can significantly affect sentencing. A prior DUI conviction is a statutory aggravator that can push the sentence outside the presumptive range and reduce the court’s flexibility. It can also influence how the prosecutor approaches negotiations and what offers, if any, are made. This is not a reason to avoid fighting the case; it is a reason to fight it more carefully.
Can these charges ever be reduced or dismissed?
Yes. The case results on record at DeChant Law include DUI charges dismissed at trial, DUI drug charges resulting in not-guilty verdicts, and DMV actions successfully challenged and dismissed. Results depend on the specific facts, the quality of the investigation, and how effectively the defense challenges the evidence. Nothing is guaranteed, but outcomes in serious cases are not predetermined either.
How does Reid approach a case where someone actually died?
Reid came up defending people at the lowest points of their lives, including as a public defender handling homicides. His approach starts with the person, their story, and what actually happened, not with a generic defense framework. At Trial Lawyers College, he refined how that story gets told in front of a jury. Compassion for the client and clarity about the evidence are not in conflict. They work together.
Defending Vehicular Assault and Homicide Charges in Boulder and Surrounding Counties
Serious felony charges at the 20th Judicial District level require a defense lawyer who has actually tried these cases, challenged expert witnesses, and cross-examined investigators. Reid DeChant’s experience spans Denver, Adams, Jefferson, Broomfield, Arapahoe, and Douglas counties in addition to Boulder. He has worked both sides of the public defender experience and private practice, and he understands how these prosecutions are built and where they come apart. A Boulder County vehicular assault or vehicular homicide case deserves a defense that is as thorough as the prosecution bringing it.