Last year, a man from Grand County was involved in an accident as he was trying to make his way home from a 4th of July fireworks display. He had two children in his car with him. He struck a family of 10 while driving home.
The crash took place near Grand Lake, though a few miles to the south. It was close to the Trail Ridge Marina, which can be found on Shadow Mountain Lake, and to the Bluebird Motel. The accident happened at about twenty minutes after ten.
Three of the children had to be taken to hospitals around the Denver area, and their mother, who suffered from serious injuries, was taken out to Denver Health Medical Center. Their father passed away in the incident. Five of the children actually got through the accident without being injured.
While the man could still face charges for driving after drinking alcohol and for endangering his own children, some of the charges against him are now going to be dropped. One of the attorneys involved said that they had spoken to both the victims in the accident and the emergency crews who responded, and they felt that it was best to drop the major charges and simply pursue the lesser ones.
The importance of this story to anyone who is facing drunk driving charges is that it shows how only charges that fit the crime should be pursued in court; the legal team wanted to make sure that justice was the main focus, which is why they let some of the charges go. Understanding when this is necessary is key to arriving at a fair sentence in any case.
Source: ABC 7, “DA dropping felony charges in deadly crash after 4th of July fireworks in Grand County last year,” June 24, 2014
