A two vehicle crash on I-70 near the Lookout Mountain exchange resulted in the death of a 2-year-old girl, Sophia Rivera and serious injuries to her mother.
The mother lost control of the car, went through the median and then hit a pickup truck travelling in the opposite lane. The driver of the truck suffered minor injuries. The force of the crash resulted in the near complete destruction of the back end of the car where the young girl sat in her car seat.
Alcohol involved in the fatal crash
According to Denver7, the mother is believed to have been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash. The Colorado State Patrol is recommending that vehicular homicide charges be filed against her. An aunt says the woman remains in ICU and does not know about the extent of the accident.
Sophia’s father is struggling with the loss of his young daughter. The girl’s mother was on the way to his house to drop the girl off when the accident occurred.
Driving while intoxicated is often deadly
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2016, 10,497 people died from crashes where alcohol was involved in the U.S. Of these deaths, 1,233 were children aged 14 and younger. That means 29 people die each day from alcohol-related vehicle accidents in the U.S.
Even small amounts of alcohol affect driving ability
In Colorado and throughout the U.S., it is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. However, even a BAC of .05 affects your ability to control muscles, ability to see moving items, ability to steer a vehicle, makes you less alert and slows your response time. The NHTSA states that the higher your BAC is, the greater the risk you will be involved in a car crash.
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