Lakewood Vehicular Assault and Homicide Defense Lawyer
Vehicular assault and vehicular homicide are among the most aggressively prosecuted charges in Jefferson County. Prosecutors treat these cases differently than standard traffic offenses or even most felonies, because there is almost always a victim, often a grieving family, and significant public pressure to secure a conviction. When Reid DeChant takes on a Lakewood vehicular assault or homicide defense case, the work starts immediately: accident reconstruction, blood test chain of custody, whether the stop or arrest was lawful, and what the evidence actually shows versus what the state claims it shows. These charges can follow a person for life, and the difference between a conviction and a dismissal often comes down to preparation that begins long before any hearing is scheduled.
What Colorado Law Actually Charges in These Cases
Colorado separates vehicular assault and vehicular homicide into distinct statutes with distinct charging thresholds, and the presence of alcohol or drugs in the driver’s system is what drives most of the sentencing exposure. Under Colorado law, vehicular assault becomes a Class 4 felony when the prosecution alleges the defendant was DUI or DWAI at the time of the crash. Without impairment, vehicular assault charged on a recklessness theory is a Class 5 felony, still serious but carrying significantly less prison time. Vehicular homicide where impairment is alleged jumps to a Class 3 felony, the kind of charge that carries mandatory prison time in most cases.
The practical difference matters enormously for defense strategy. A DUI-based charge requires the prosecution to prove both that the defendant was impaired and that the impairment was a proximate cause of the injury or death. That is two separate legal requirements, each one capable of being contested. In cases where the state relies on a blood test, the entire validity of that result becomes a central battleground: when was blood drawn, by whom, was the sample properly preserved, was the testing methodology sound, and did any other substance or medical condition affect the result. These are not technicalities. They are the core of whether the state can actually prove what it claims.
The Crash Investigation and Why It Almost Never Tells the Whole Story
When a serious accident happens on W. Colfax Avenue, Kipling Street, or the stretch of US-285 that runs through Lakewood, law enforcement responds quickly and begins building a case almost immediately. The problem is that the initial investigation is rarely neutral. Accident reconstructionists hired by the state are working to support the conclusion that the driver charged was at fault and impaired. Witness statements are taken while events are fresh but also while witnesses are shaken and not necessarily observing carefully. Physical evidence at the scene gets documented, but what gets documented and how can reflect the assumptions of the investigators as much as the objective facts.
An independent accident reconstruction conducted by experts working for the defense can reach very different conclusions. Road conditions, the actions of the other driver, vehicle defects, lighting conditions, and the geometry of the intersection all influence what actually happened. In Lakewood, the intersection patterns around Belmar, the merge configurations near US-6, and the visibility issues on certain stretches of Wadsworth can all be relevant to how and why a crash occurred. A defense that never challenges the state’s reconstruction of events is one that concedes facts it should be fighting.
Blood and Breath Evidence in Vehicular Homicide Cases
In almost every vehicular homicide or vehicular assault case involving alleged impairment, the prosecution leans heavily on a blood test result. Colorado’s express consent law means that most drivers have their blood drawn after a serious crash, and those results become the centerpiece of the state’s case. But blood test evidence in criminal cases is far more vulnerable than prosecutors typically acknowledge in their charging decisions.
Reid DeChant’s work on DUI and impaired driving cases has been focused enough that he understands how these testing processes can fail, and failure does not have to be dramatic to matter legally. A gap in chain of custody documentation. A deviation from CDPHE-approved testing protocols. Blood drawn outside the lawful window. A result that reflects the defendant’s BAC at the time of the draw rather than at the time of driving, which can be a meaningful difference in cases where time elapsed between the crash and the blood draw. Each of these issues has the potential to undermine the prosecution’s core evidence, and identifying them requires someone who has actually litigated these questions before.
It is also worth understanding that the mere presence of a substance in someone’s blood is not the same as impairment. Colorado’s drug DUI framework does not set a per se impairment threshold for most controlled substances the way it does for alcohol, which means the state must connect the substance to actual impaired driving ability. That connection is often less clear in the underlying evidence than the charging document suggests.
Jefferson County Courts and How These Cases Move
Vehicular assault and vehicular homicide cases in Lakewood are handled in Jefferson County District Court. These are not cases that resolve through routine plea negotiations. The charging decisions tend to come from senior prosecutors, and because serious injury or death is involved, the political and institutional pressure to push for significant sentences is real. Understanding how Jefferson County’s district attorney’s office approaches these cases, what arguments have tended to resonate in that courtroom environment, and how to position a defense for either a negotiated resolution or a jury trial is not generic knowledge. It comes from actual experience working in and around these courts.
Reid’s background as a public defender and in private practice included cases across Denver, Broomfield, and Adams County. His trial experience spans DUI, assault, and serious felony matters, and the skills that produce results in those cases carry directly into vehicular assault and homicide defense. Storytelling in a courtroom, understanding what a jury actually hears versus what lawyers assume they hear, and having the tenacity to litigate every contested issue rather than accepting the prosecution’s framing, those are the qualities that matter when the stakes in a case are this serious.
What People Actually Need to Know About These Charges
What is the difference between vehicular assault and vehicular homicide in Colorado?
Vehicular assault involves serious bodily injury to another person as a result of the driver’s conduct, while vehicular homicide involves causing another person’s death. Both can be charged as DUI-based or recklessness-based offenses, and the DUI-based versions carry substantially heavier penalties, including mandatory prison time for vehicular homicide.
Can vehicular homicide be charged even if there was no alcohol involved?
Yes. Colorado law allows vehicular homicide charges where the prosecution alleges the driver was acting recklessly, even without any impairment. Recklessness in this context typically means a conscious disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk. The recklessness-based charge is a Class 4 felony rather than Class 3, but it remains a serious felony with real prison exposure.
What happens to my driver’s license while the criminal case is pending?
A serious accident with DUI allegations almost always triggers a parallel DMV proceeding under Colorado’s express consent law. This is a separate process from the criminal case, with its own deadlines and its own hearing. Missing the DMV hearing window can result in automatic revocation. Reid handles both the criminal defense and the DMV action together, because allowing a license to be revoked by default has consequences that extend well beyond the case itself.
Is it possible to avoid prison time on a vehicular homicide charge?
DUI-based vehicular homicide carries a presumptive prison sentence under Colorado law, which means avoiding incarceration is difficult but not always impossible depending on the specifics of the case, the defendant’s background, and how the evidence holds up. Recklessness-based vehicular homicide has more sentencing flexibility. The outcome in any individual case depends entirely on the facts, the quality of the defense, and what can actually be established at trial or negotiated before it.
What if I was involved in a crash but I do not believe I was at fault?
Fault and criminal liability are different inquiries, but they overlap significantly in these cases. If the state is charging you, they have already concluded you were the proximate cause of the injury or death. Challenging that conclusion requires a thorough independent investigation, including accident reconstruction, review of all physical evidence, and careful analysis of every other driver’s or pedestrian’s conduct in the moments before the crash.
How does drug impairment get proven in vehicular assault or homicide cases?
Unlike alcohol, where a 0.08% BAC is a legal per se threshold, most drugs do not have a statutory impairment cutoff in Colorado. The prosecution typically relies on blood test results showing the presence of a substance combined with officer observations of driving behavior and physical signs. Because there is no bright-line number, these cases create more room for a defense to contest the impairment element, but they also tend to involve complex expert testimony about pharmacology and how specific substances affect driving ability.
Should I speak with law enforcement after a serious accident before consulting a lawyer?
No. Statements made at the scene, at the hospital, or in follow-up interviews become evidence and are frequently used against the speaker in ways that were not anticipated at the time. Law enforcement officers investigating a fatal or serious injury crash are building a case. Anything said before speaking with a defense attorney can close off options that would otherwise remain open.
Talk to a Lakewood Vehicular Homicide Defense Attorney Before Your Options Narrow
The investigation in a vehicular assault or homicide case moves fast. Evidence degrades, witnesses become harder to locate, and the prosecution’s theory of the case solidifies before the defense has had any input. Retaining a Lakewood vehicular assault and homicide defense attorney in the earliest stages is not about urgency for its own sake. It is about preserving the ability to conduct a real investigation, challenge the state’s evidence effectively, and build a defense that reflects what actually happened rather than what the initial police report concludes. DeChant Law represents clients in Jefferson County and the broader Denver metro area who are facing the most serious consequences these charges can bring. Contact the firm to discuss the specific facts of your case.