Frisco Vehicular Assault and Vehicular Homicide Defense Lawyer
A crash that injures or kills someone can transform a driver into a criminal defendant overnight. Colorado prosecutors treat vehicular assault and vehicular homicide as serious felonies, and Summit County has seen its share of these cases on roads like I-70, US-6, and the mountain corridors that bring millions of visitors through Frisco every year. If you are under investigation or have already been charged, attorney Reid DeChant brings courtroom experience, trial skills, and a genuine commitment to understanding your full story. Frisco vehicular assault and vehicular homicide defense demands a lawyer who has actually tried serious cases, not one who settles everything at the first court date.
What Colorado Actually Charges, and Why It Matters in Summit County
Colorado draws a sharp line between accidents and criminal conduct, but prosecutors often push those lines aggressively. Vehicular assault under C.R.S. 18-3-205 requires proof that a driver operated a vehicle in a reckless manner, or while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and that the driving directly caused serious bodily injury to another person. Reckless vehicular assault is a class 5 felony. If the prosecution alleges DUI was involved, it rises to a class 4 felony, carrying one to six years in prison.
Vehicular homicide under C.R.S. 18-3-106 follows the same structure but applies when someone dies. Reckless vehicular homicide is a class 4 felony. DUI-related vehicular homicide is a class 3 felony, with a sentencing range of four to twelve years in the Colorado Department of Corrections. These are not charges that resolve quietly. Prosecutors in the Fifth Judicial District, which covers Summit County, will pursue prison time on the most serious cases.
The distinction between reckless driving and ordinary negligence is where these cases are often won or lost. A momentary lapse, an unfamiliar mountain road, an icy patch on a curve near Dillon or Silverthorne, none of these automatically equal criminal recklessness. The standard requires conscious disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk. That is a legal standard with real content, and it is something Reid challenges at every stage.
How Summit County Cases Are Investigated and Prosecuted
Vehicular homicide cases in Colorado typically involve Colorado State Patrol accident reconstructionists, toxicology labs, and sometimes outside experts hired by the DA’s office. The investigation begins at the scene and continues for weeks or months. Investigators photograph skid marks, measure sight lines, pull data from vehicle event data recorders (the car’s “black box”), and gather witness statements. By the time charges are filed, the prosecution may have thousands of pages of evidence.
In Frisco and across Summit County, cases are filed in the Fifth Judicial District Court in Breckenridge. The drive times, the elevation changes, the tourist traffic patterns on I-70 near the Eisenhower Tunnel all become relevant context when evaluating what happened and why. Local prosecutors are familiar with mountain driving conditions. Reid is equally familiar with how to contextualize those conditions for a jury.
Speed on a mountain road looks different to a juror from the Front Range than it does to someone who drives that stretch weekly. Event data recorder outputs need to be scrutinized by someone who understands what they actually measure and what they do not. Toxicology results have margins of error and chain-of-custody requirements that must be verified. These are not theoretical concerns. They are the specific technical and factual issues that determine outcomes.
Defense Angles That Are Actually Relevant to These Charges
There is no universal playbook. The right defense depends entirely on what the evidence shows, what the investigation produced, and what the prosecution’s theory of causation actually is. That said, certain issues arise consistently in vehicular assault and homicide cases and are worth understanding from the start.
Causation is often contested. Even if a driver was under the influence, the prosecution must prove that the impairment caused the injury or death, not that a crash happened while someone had alcohol in their system. If road conditions, another driver’s actions, or a vehicle defect contributed to the outcome, causation becomes a genuine issue at trial.
Recklessness is a higher bar than negligence. A driver who made a poor judgment call, misjudged a curve, or followed too closely in traffic may have driven negligently. Recklessness requires conscious disregard of a known and substantial risk. That distinction matters significantly in the charging decision and at trial.
Blood or breath test results can be challenged on procedural, scientific, and constitutional grounds. If a driver’s blood was drawn after a significant delay, if the sample was mishandled, or if the testing equipment was not properly calibrated, those are grounds for challenging the reliability of the result. Reid has built his practice around DUI defense, and that technical knowledge carries directly into DUI-related vehicular assault and homicide cases.
Witness reliability and reconstruction methodology also come under scrutiny. Accident reconstruction is science, but it involves assumptions. When experts make assumptions that favor the prosecution, those assumptions deserve cross-examination by someone who has done this work before.
What Happens After an Arrest: The Practical Reality
Most people arrested on vehicular homicide charges have no prior criminal history. They are not hardened offenders. They are often in shock, grieving alongside the victim’s family, and completely unprepared for what the criminal process looks like from the inside.
After arrest, there will be an advisement in Summit County where bond is set. The next stage is a preliminary hearing or grand jury proceeding, where the prosecution demonstrates probable cause to proceed. Then motions practice begins, which is where a well-prepared defense attorney can challenge evidence, suppress unlawful searches, or seek dismissal on legal grounds. If the case proceeds, trial is the endpoint.
Reid has tried serious felony cases. That matters more than it might seem. Many criminal defense attorneys in Colorado handle high volumes of cases and resolve the vast majority through plea agreements. That is sometimes the right outcome. But in vehicular assault and homicide cases with viable defenses, a lawyer who is genuinely prepared to go to trial holds a different kind of leverage and brings a different level of preparation to every stage.
Questions People Are Asking About These Charges in Colorado
Can vehicular homicide be charged even if the driver had a BAC below the legal limit?
Yes. If the prosecution can show any degree of impairment contributed to the accident, they can pursue a DUI-based vehicular homicide charge even without a BAC of 0.08 or higher. They may also charge reckless vehicular homicide based entirely on driving behavior if no substance was involved.
What is the difference between vehicular assault and vehicular homicide in Colorado?
The distinction is the outcome of the crash. Vehicular assault applies when another person suffers serious bodily injury. Vehicular homicide applies when another person dies. Both carry felony charges under Colorado law, with homicide carrying the heavier penalties.
Will I face both criminal charges and a civil lawsuit?
Possibly. Civil and criminal proceedings are separate, and a family that loses a loved one in a crash often pursues wrongful death litigation regardless of the criminal outcome. An acquittal in criminal court does not automatically resolve civil liability, and the two standards of proof are different.
Does Colorado law allow for probation in vehicular homicide cases?
It depends heavily on the classification of the charge and the specific facts. Reckless vehicular homicide as a class 4 felony may allow for probation in some circumstances. DUI-based vehicular homicide as a class 3 felony is subject to mandatory sentencing considerations that limit judicial discretion. Each case has to be analyzed individually.
What happens to my driver’s license after a vehicular assault or homicide charge?
If the charge involves DUI, the DMV will pursue separate action against your license through the express consent process, independent of the criminal case. These are parallel proceedings and both require attention. A license revocation can happen well before any criminal conviction.
How long does a vehicular homicide case typically take to resolve in Summit County?
Serious felony cases in the Fifth Judicial District can take anywhere from several months to over a year from arrest to resolution, depending on the complexity of the evidence and whether the case goes to trial. Accident reconstruction and toxicology analysis alone can extend timelines significantly.
Should I talk to investigators before hiring a lawyer?
No. In vehicular assault and homicide investigations, statements made to law enforcement before speaking with an attorney can become critical evidence against you. Exercise your right to remain silent and speak with a lawyer first.
Facing Vehicular Assault or Homicide Charges in Frisco or Summit County
These cases carry real consequences, and they move quickly once law enforcement and prosecutors get involved. Reid DeChant has built his career on serious criminal defense, tried difficult cases in Colorado courts, and understands both the human dimension and the legal complexity of what clients are facing at the worst moments of their lives. If you need a Frisco vehicular homicide defense attorney who will actually dig into the evidence, prepare for trial, and give you honest counsel at every step, contact DeChant Law to discuss what happened and what comes next.