Colorado Highway 83 was closed down for several hours as local police conducted an investigation into a deadly crash. The driver believed to be responsible for the wreck was taken into police custody due to suspicions that she might have been under the influence at the time. She has since been charged with several drunk driving related charges, including DUI and vehicular homicide.
Just prior to the wreck, a couple on a motorcycle was heading north on Highway 83. Another motorcycle rider was also heading northbound somewhere behind them, although it is not clear if they were riding as a group or if they simply happened to be next to one another. At some point, a small, southbound motor vehicle drifted out of its lane and veered across the center line of traffic. Both motorcycles were struck.
The couple who had been sharing a motorcycle were tossed from the bike and later pronounced dead while still at the site of the accident. The other motorcycle rider — a 28-year-old man from Colorado Springs — only suffered minor injuries. Exactly how police determined that the driver was intoxicated at the time of the wreck is not clear, but her charges include driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or a combination of the two.
News outlets have been quick to point to prior criminal allegations filed against the driver, but her current charges for drunk driving are in no way related to any past actions or accusations. In order to render a conviction, each individual charge must stand on its own and be proved true beyond any type of reasonable doubt. No matter a Colorado defendant’s history, each and every individual has the right to be assumed innocent during the course of a criminal investigation and subsequent trial.
