Witness dies, Driver’s charges reduced to misdemeanor in Longmont crash that killed 8-year-old on bike
Kyle Couch, of Longmont, appears in court Friday at the Boulder County Justice Center, where he pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the crash last year that killed 8-year-old Peyton Knowlton. (Matthew Jonas / Staff Photographer)
Boulder County prosecutors concluded there wasn’t enough evidence to convict the Longmont man accused of fatally running over an 8-year-old girl of vehicular homicide and driving under the influence of marijuana.
As part of a deal with prosecutors, Kyle Couch, 21, instead pleaded guilty Friday to added counts of misdemeanor criminal possession of an identification document and careless driving in the May 20 crash at 17th Avenue and Alpine Street in Longmont that killed Peyton Knowlton while she was riding her bike.
Couch now faces up to 18 months in jail on the Class 1 misdemeanor — for possessing a fake ID — and up to 90 days in jail for traffic charge, according to Boulder District Chief Judge Maria Berkenkotter.
Prosecutors dropped all nine original counts filed against Couch, including possession of a forged instrument, prohibited use of a weapon, violation of a traffic control signal (red light), failing to yield right of way to a pedestrian, illegal possession or consumption of ethyl alcohol by an underage person, illegal possession or consumption of marijuana by an underage person, illegal possession of marijuana paraphernalia by an underage person and the two most serious charges: vehicular homicide and DUI.
Previous 303cycling.com stories:
https://303cycling.com/tragic-death-of-8-year-old-cyclist-in-longmont/
https://303cycling.com/driver-charged-8yr-old-cyclist-death/
0 Comments