Larimer County Vehicular Assault and Vehicular Homicide Defense Lawyer

A serious collision changes everything in seconds, and the criminal charges that follow can change everything that comes after. Larimer County vehicular assault and vehicular homicide defense demands a lawyer who understands both the science of how these cases are built and the human weight of what is actually at stake. At DeChant Law, attorney Reid brings direct courtroom experience handling complex criminal matters, including cases where the government is pressing hard for a conviction backed by accident reconstructionists, toxicology reports, and witness testimony. These are not cases where the process can be managed passively. They require someone willing to stand in front of a jury and fight.

What Colorado Law Actually Charges and Why It Matters

Colorado draws a precise line between vehicular assault and vehicular homicide, and the distinction shapes everything from the sentence a person faces to how the prosecution builds its case. Vehicular assault under C.R.S. 18-3-205 applies when a driver causes serious bodily injury to another person while driving under the influence or while driving recklessly. The DUI version is a class 4 felony. The reckless version is a class 5 felony. That gap matters because the prosecution has discretion in how they charge, and the facts as initially presented by law enforcement do not always reflect the full picture.

Vehicular homicide under C.R.S. 18-3-106 applies when a person causes the death of another through reckless driving or impaired driving. The DUI version is a class 3 felony, which carries a presumptive sentence of four to twelve years in the Colorado Department of Corrections. The reckless version is a class 4 felony. For someone with no prior record, these numbers still represent a potential decade or more in prison, a permanent felony conviction, and the loss of driving privileges. For someone with prior DUI convictions, the exposure expands further under Colorado’s habitual offender statutes.

Larimer County courts, including the Larimer County District Court in Fort Collins, handle these cases with prosecutors who have experience with serious felony traffic matters. The Colorado State Patrol and Larimer County Sheriff’s Office regularly investigate crashes on U.S. 287, Highway 34 through Loveland and Estes Park, and I-25 through the Fort Collins corridor. These are high-speed, high-traffic roadways where serious crashes occur, and where investigators arrive with specific tools and investigative protocols designed to build criminal cases quickly. Understanding how that investigation unfolded is often where a defense begins.

The Evidence These Cases Actually Hinge On

Vehicular assault and homicide cases are built on layers of physical evidence that require expert scrutiny. The accident reconstruction report is often treated as authoritative by prosecutors, but reconstructionists work from assumptions and formulas that have measurable margins of error. Speed estimates, braking distance calculations, point-of-impact determinations, and fault inferences drawn from vehicle positions are all subject to meaningful challenge when the underlying data is examined closely.

Toxicology is the second major battlefield. If the government alleges DUI, they will rely on a blood draw taken at the hospital or law enforcement facility following the collision. The timing of that draw matters under Colorado’s two-hour rule. The chain of custody for the sample matters. The lab methodology matters. Defense counsel who understands how blood alcohol testing is conducted, how retrograde extrapolation works, and what contamination or fermentation can do to a sample can raise legitimate doubt about what the number actually means in the context of when the person was driving.

Beyond reconstruction and toxicology, these cases often involve witness accounts collected in the immediate aftermath of a traumatic event, surveillance or dash cam footage that captures only part of the sequence, cell phone data extracted from devices at the scene, and road condition or vehicle defect evidence that may point to contributing causes entirely separate from driver conduct. Reid’s experience as a public defender and in private practice means he approaches these cases knowing what the government typically presents and what it often overlooks.

Recklessness Is a Legal Standard, Not a Conclusion

One of the most important things to understand in a vehicular assault or homicide case charged under the reckless driving theory is that recklessness has a specific legal meaning under Colorado law. It is not carelessness. It is not inattention. It is not even negligence. Recklessness under Colorado law requires that the driver consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk. That is a demanding standard, and when the government charges reckless vehicular assault or homicide rather than the DUI version, the defense has real ground to work with.

A driver who made a split-second misjudgment, who did not see a pedestrian at night, who experienced a sudden medical event, or whose vehicle had a mechanical defect that contributed to loss of control has a different legal situation than the government’s initial charging document might suggest. These distinctions matter enormously at trial and in negotiations. The difference between a class 4 and class 5 felony, or between a felony conviction and a reduced charge, can mean years of someone’s life.

Questions People Ask About These Charges in Larimer County

Can a vehicular homicide charge be reduced to a lesser offense?

Yes, in some cases. The outcome depends on the strength of the government’s evidence, the specific facts of the crash, and whether there are viable legal challenges to the investigation or the charges as filed. Reductions to lesser offenses, including reckless driving or careless driving causing injury or death, do occur in negotiated resolutions. Whether that path is appropriate depends on the facts and what the evidence actually supports.

Does it matter if I was not legally over the limit but still got charged with DUI-related vehicular assault?

It can, but it depends on the specific charge. Colorado’s DWAI threshold is 0.05 percent BAC, which is lower than the 0.08 percent DUI threshold. Prosecutors sometimes charge based on observed impairment rather than a specific number. If the toxicology result is below the legal threshold, that is a meaningful piece of the defense, though not automatically dispositive. These are fact-specific questions that require a close review of what the blood draw showed and when it was taken.

What happens to my driver’s license if I am charged with vehicular assault or homicide?

Colorado’s DMV can initiate a separate action against your license independent of the criminal case. A conviction for vehicular assault or vehicular homicide while DUI carries mandatory license revocation. DeChant Law has significant experience handling DMV proceedings alongside criminal defense, which matters because the two proceedings operate on different timelines and under different procedural rules.

Will I face prison time even as a first-time offender?

A class 3 felony vehicular homicide charge carries a presumptive range that includes prison time, and judges have limited flexibility to depart downward without extraordinary circumstances. First-time offenders do receive different consideration than repeat offenders, and the factual circumstances of the case affect sentencing significantly. The short answer is that prison is a real possibility, which is why having defense counsel who has actually tried these cases to verdict matters from the very beginning.

How does it affect the defense if the other driver or victim also contributed to the crash?

Comparative fault is a concept that exists more clearly in civil law than in criminal law, but evidence that another party’s conduct contributed to or caused the collision is directly relevant to the criminal defense. If the evidence shows that the crash resulted from road conditions, another driver’s actions, or a mechanical failure, that goes to the core questions of causation and mens rea that the government must establish. This type of evidence must be developed and preserved early in the case.

What is the difference between how vehicular homicide and a DUI charge are handled at the Larimer County courthouse?

Vehicular homicide is a district court matter, not a county court matter, because it is a felony. The Larimer County District Court in Fort Collins handles these cases, and the stakes and complexity of a felony trial are substantially different from a misdemeanor DUI proceeding. The prosecution team assigned to serious vehicular felonies tends to have more resources and more trial experience than those handling standard DUI cases, which is another reason the quality and preparation of the defense side matters so much.

How soon should I contact a defense attorney after this type of arrest?

Immediately. Law enforcement continues building its case in the hours and days after an arrest. Accident reconstruction work continues, witnesses are interviewed, and documentation decisions are made that can affect what evidence survives. The defense needs to begin its own investigation, preserve evidence, and evaluate whether any statements were obtained improperly. Delay costs the defense ground it may not be able to recover.

Facing Vehicular Felony Charges in Northern Colorado

Reid’s background as a public defender across multiple Colorado counties and his private practice representing clients in serious criminal matters gives him a practical understanding of how these cases move through the system and where they can be challenged. DeChant Law defends clients charged with vehicular assault and vehicular homicide in Larimer County and throughout the surrounding region, including cases originating in Fort Collins, Loveland, Estes Park, and communities along the I-25 corridor. If you are facing a vehicular felony charge in northern Colorado, the right time to build a defense is now, not after the government has had weeks to frame the narrative. Contact DeChant Law to speak directly with a Larimer County vehicular homicide defense attorney about what happened and what your options are.