Colorado Springs Vehicular Assault and Homicide Defense Lawyer
A crash that results in serious injury or death can transform a driver into a criminal defendant almost overnight. Colorado prosecutors treat these cases aggressively, and the charges they file, whether vehicular assault or vehicular homicide, carry prison sentences that can reshape every aspect of a person’s life. Reid DeChant has handled serious felony matters at the public defender level and in private practice, defending clients through the full weight of the criminal process, including jury trial. If you are facing charges in El Paso County or the surrounding region, the decisions made in the earliest stages of your case will matter.
What Colorado Law Actually Requires for These Charges
Vehicular assault under Colorado law requires the prosecution to prove that a driver operated a vehicle in a reckless manner and that this conduct directly caused serious bodily injury to another person. The recklessness standard is not the same as simple negligence. A bad outcome alone does not satisfy it. There must be a conscious disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk, something more than a mistake or poor judgment in a split second.
Vehicular homicide follows the same framework but applies when another person dies. There are two versions: one based on reckless driving and a more serious version based on driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. A DUI-based vehicular homicide in Colorado is a class 3 felony, carrying up to 12 years in prison. The reckless version is a class 4 felony, still punishable by up to six years.
The charging decision itself is significant. Prosecutors sometimes reach for the DUI version of the charge when the toxicology picture is ambiguous, when blood was drawn hours after the crash, or when field sobriety observations are contested. That charging choice shapes the entire case, including plea negotiations, sentencing exposure, and trial strategy.
How El Paso County Prosecutes Serious Crash Cases
Colorado Springs and El Paso County have their own prosecutorial culture around these cases. The Fourth Judicial District handles vehicular assault and homicide matters in the El Paso County Combined Courts on East Vermijo Avenue. Cases involving fatalities on high-traffic corridors like I-25, Powers Boulevard, or Academy Boulevard tend to attract media attention, which can influence how quickly charges are filed and at what level.
Colorado State Patrol and Colorado Springs Police Department typically conduct the primary crash investigation. In fatal cases, specially trained accident reconstruction units are often deployed. Their reports become central evidence, and the conclusions embedded in those reports are treated as authoritative unless challenged by independent analysis. Law enforcement agencies in El Paso County routinely seek warrants for blood draws in serious injury crashes, especially where impairment is suspected. The timeline between the crash and the blood draw, and the method used to preserve and analyze that sample, are areas where defense challenges are not uncommon.
Prosecutors also look at cell phone records, dashcam footage, witness statements, and surveillance from nearby businesses or intersections. By the time a case reaches arraignment, the state has often assembled a layered evidentiary file. Understanding what that file actually contains, and what it does not, is where defense work begins.
Where Defense Work Actually Happens in These Cases
Defending a vehicular homicide or vehicular assault charge is not primarily about courtroom speeches. It is about methodical analysis of specific, technical evidence.
Accident reconstruction is one area. Reconstruction reports rest on assumptions, measurements, and physical models. When those assumptions are questioned through an independent expert, the prosecution’s version of how the crash occurred can shift substantially. Speed estimates, sight line calculations, and conclusions about who had the opportunity to avoid the collision are all subject to challenge.
Toxicology is another. If the case rests on a DUI theory, the blood test process matters. Colorado’s express consent law governs how and when a chemical test must be administered. Chain of custody, storage conditions, the testing method used, and the qualifications of the analyst who ran the sample are all legitimate areas for scrutiny. A blood draw taken under constitutionally deficient circumstances, or a sample that was mishandled before testing, may be challenged through a suppression motion.
Causation is often overlooked but can be the center of a case. Even if a driver was impaired, the prosecution must prove that the impairment caused the injury or death. If another driver’s conduct, a road defect, a mechanical failure, or the injured party’s own actions contributed to or caused the crash, the causal chain the prosecution needs to establish becomes contested ground.
Reid’s training at Trial Lawyers College emphasized that effective defense requires understanding not just the law but the story the evidence actually tells, and how to present that story honestly and persuasively to a jury.
Questions People Ask About These Charges
Can vehicular homicide charges be reduced or dismissed?
Yes, in some cases. Dismissals and reductions depend on the strength of the evidence, the specifics of the crash, and what the defense investigation uncovers. Charges based on a DUI theory may be reduced or altered if the toxicology evidence is contested successfully. Recklessness-based charges depend heavily on whether the driver’s conduct actually meets the legal standard, not just whether the crash was serious.
What is the difference between vehicular homicide and criminally negligent homicide in Colorado?
Criminally negligent homicide applies when a person fails to perceive a substantial risk that a reasonable person would have recognized. Vehicular homicide requires recklessness, which involves conscious disregard of that risk. The distinction matters at sentencing and in how the case is tried. Prosecutors sometimes charge both and let the jury decide, which affects how the defense is structured.
Does a prior DUI make these charges worse?
Prior DUI convictions can affect sentencing and may be introduced as evidence in certain circumstances. Colorado’s habitual traffic offender statutes and sentencing enhancement provisions can become relevant. Prior history also shapes how prosecutors approach plea negotiations. Reid’s record includes DUI defense at every level, which is directly relevant here.
Will I lose my driver’s license even before trial?
Colorado’s express consent and administrative process can trigger a license revocation independently of the criminal case. These are separate proceedings with different timelines and different standards. Handling both matters simultaneously is essential, as a loss in the DMV proceeding does not predetermine the criminal case and vice versa.
What happens if the injured person or the family of someone who died pursues a civil lawsuit at the same time?
Civil litigation can proceed alongside criminal proceedings, and statements made in one context can affect the other. Coordinating criminal defense strategy with awareness of parallel civil exposure is something that should be addressed early, not after the criminal case concludes.
How long do these cases typically take in El Paso County?
Serious felonies in the Fourth Judicial District can take a year or more from arrest to resolution, particularly if the case involves expert witnesses, pretrial motions, or goes to trial. Cases involving fatalities often receive more prosecutorial resources, which affects the pace and complexity of litigation.
What should I do if law enforcement wants to question me after a crash?
You have the right to remain silent, and in a case with this level of consequence, exercising that right until you have spoken with a defense attorney is advisable. Statements made at the scene or during early interviews have been used to establish the recklessness element prosecutors need to prove. Speaking first, thinking later, has hurt defendants in cases that might otherwise have been defensible.
Facing Vehicular Assault or Homicide Charges Near Colorado Springs
DeChant Law handles serious felony defense throughout the Denver metro area and takes cases in Colorado Springs when the circumstances warrant. Reid brings experience from public defender work across multiple Colorado counties, trial work in contested jury cases, and focused training in DUI defense that directly applies to any vehicular homicide matter where impairment is alleged. These cases require attorneys who are prepared to go to trial, not just negotiate. For anyone confronting a Colorado Springs vehicular assault or vehicular homicide charge, a conversation with Reid is the right place to start.