A Colorado District Attorney has assigned probation and community service to a teenager, who is an undocumented immigrant, for causing a fatal car crash.
This incident took place last July in Aurora, involving a 15-year-old Colombian national who was driving at 90 mph in a 45 mph zone without a valid license. The crash killed Caitlyn Weaver, who was returning home from work. Although she was struck and critically injured, she succumbed two days later after her family made the difficult decision to remove her from life support.
“She had no chance,” said Caitlyn’s father, John Weaver. “He was going so fast that she was almost gone before she realized what happened.”
Caitlyn, who was 24 at the time, had volunteered for a suicide hotline prior to working in a drug rehabilitation center. Records indicate that other minors were present in the car with the teen. Although he was initially charged with vehicular homicide, the Arapahoe District Attorney’s Office decided on probation and community service instead. John Weaver noted that the DA has indicated there will be no plea deal until Amy Padden takes over as the new district attorney.
“Why is it different? If he had used a gun recklessly and killed someone, I bet the case would have been approached very differently,” Weaver expressed. “It just doesn’t seem like there’s any deterrent here.”
The teen’s mother argued that he took her vehicle without permission, leading to her being deemed not financially responsible for the accident. The Jeep was uninsured as well.
“All these issues—immigration, the justice system—they all collided in Aurora that day. Now I’m left here without my daughter,” Weaver said.
After being informed that his mother intended to send him back to Colombia, the teenager applied for asylum.
