A shocking report from the Daily Camera Boulder News says that 75-year-old Bob Greenlee, a former mayor of Boulder, has been charged with nine criminal offenses for his role in a five-car crash last year (http://www.dailycamera.com/top-stories/ci_30797696/ex-boulder-mayor-bob-greenlee-was-driving-aggressively). Greenlee has been charged with criminally negligent homicide, vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, speeding, reckless driving, improper passing on the left, reckless endangerment and two counts of careless driving causing injury for his part in the crash, which took the life of one person involved.
According to Crista Newmyer-Olsen, Twelfth Judicial District Attorney, the delay in filing charges was partly due to accident reconstruction, which can take some time. Newmyer-Olsen also noted the area has limited resources and is dealing with another fatal crash case and a triple homicide in addition to the Greenlee case.
The accident report from the Colorado State Patrol indicates that Greenlee was the cause of the fatal crash on December 28th of last year, which left Greenlee and his wife Diane in the hospital with serious injuries and took the life of 70-year-old Pat Lucero of Monte Vista. Greenlee was driving at 87 mph in an area with a 65 mph speed limit when the crash happened. The former mayor’s passing on the left and his aggressive driving were cited as factors that contributed to the tragic event.
According to investigators on the case, Greenlee was in a Cadillac Escalade headed westbound on the US 160 between Alamosa and Walsenburg when he went into an oncoming lane to pass another vehicle and hit a 2010 Toyota Camry being driven by Lucero. This caused the Camry to hit a tractor-trailer before it went into the westbound lanes of the highway and struck a Kia Spectra. Greenlee’s Escalade continued west and ended up in a head-on collision with a BMW X5 that was going east, causing the X5 to roll over onto its side. Lucero was pronounced dead at the accident site, while the former Boulder mayor, his wife and five other people involved in the crash were transported to the hospital.
Greenlee was the mayor of Boulder from 1998 to 1999, and he has also served on the city’s council. He ran unsuccessfully for a district seat in Congress in 1998 and was also the founder of the KBCO radio station in Boulder and a co-founder of Rock Bottom Restaurants.
Unfortunately, reckless driving is the culprit behind many accidents in Colorado, and dangerous trends appear to be set to continue on the state’s roads for the foreseeable future. According to a survey conducted by the Colorado Department of Transportation that was covered by KUNC, (http://www.kunc.org/post/colorado-s-bad-driving-habits-4-findings-department-transportation) 69 percent of respondents admitted they speed, 62 percent said they adjusted music players while driving and 38 percent admitted they drove within two hours of drinking alcohol.
If you or someone you care about has been injured because of a reckless driver, speak to an experienced Colorado injury attorney as soon as possible. You may be entitled to compensation for your suffering, losses and pain.
