A head-on collision on Hwy. 135 on Nov. 5 claimed the life of 38-year-old Crested Butte resident Heather Cooper. The accident occurred at approximately 8:20 a.m. near mile marker 14 just south of the Roaring Judy Fish Hatchery.
The other driver, Dylan Blessing-Garcia, was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide. Gunnison County Judge Ashley Burgemeister set bond at $5,000 and scheduled a hearing date for the defendant on Nov. 18 at 9 a.m. Bond was posted for Blessing-Garcia on Nov. 5 at and he was released from custody.
According to investigators, Blessing-Garcia of Seattle, Washington was driving a GMC Sierra pickup when he crossed a double yellow line attempting to pass another vehicle on a blind curve. He collided head-on with a southbound Ford Escape, driven by Cooper. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Gunnison County Coroner Michael Barnes determined the cause of death to be multiple traumatic injuries.
Officers on the scene did not suspect impairment from drugs or alcohol as a contributing factor to the accident, but an in-depth investigation is still ongoing. Trooper Dennis Williams from the Colorado State Patrol Vehicular Crimes Unit said they are currently interviewing witnesses, reviewing evidence collected at the scene and awaiting data from the airbag control module. This will give the troopers a detailed picture of what happened in each vehicle leading up to the crash — speed, braking, cruise control use, etc. .
“We have the capability to download five seconds of data that will give us that information,” Williams said. “You might think five seconds isn’t that long, but in an episode of a crash it’s an eternity.”
Blessing-Garcia was treated for minor injuries at Gunnison Valley Hospital before being taken to the Gunnison County Jail where he was booked and charged with vehicular homicide — a felony charge in the state of Colorado.
“He could definitely be looking at prison time and a fairly hefty fine,” Williams said.
In Colorado, vehicular homicide can carry a sentence of 2-12 years in prison, which can be extended up to 24 years if the judge finds that “aggravating circumstances” were involved. In addition to potential prison time, fines associated with vehicular homicide can range from $2,000 up to $750,000 depending on the circumstances. Up to 5 years of parole and revocation of license are also mandatory if found guilty of this crime.
“This [type of fatality investigation] isn’t something that just takes us a couple of days to do. It’s a major undertaking and could take weeks or months compiling all of the data. It’s not unusual to have a 200 to 300 page report for an investigation like this and we do it for every single fatality that we cover,” Williams said.
Trooper Williams reminded residents and visitors to avoid reckless passing.
“Don’t pass on a double yellow line,” Williams said. “Even if you make a bad pass successfully between Gunnison and Crested Butte, you’re talking about maybe a minute that you saved, if that.”
(Gia Wright can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or jwright@orourkemediagroup.com.)
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