{"id":806891,"date":"2020-04-28T16:45:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-28T22:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=382383"},"modified":"2020-04-28T16:45:00","modified_gmt":"2020-04-28T22:45:00","slug":"breckenridge-woman-pleads-guilty-to-vehicular-homicide-in-fatal-highway-9-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/breckenridge-woman-pleads-guilty-to-vehicular-homicide-in-fatal-highway-9-crash\/","title":{"rendered":"Breckenridge woman pleads guilty to vehicular homicide in fatal Highway 9 crash"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"636\" height=\"476\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/09\/Ward-SDN-090419.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/09\/Ward-SDN-090419.jpg 636w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/09\/Ward-SDN-090419-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\"><figcaption><strong>Lindsey Leigh Ward, the suspect in a fatal crash on Colorado Highway 9 on Aug. 30, 2019. <\/strong><br \/><em>Courtesy Summit County Sheriff\u2019s Office<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>BRECKENRIDGE \u2014 <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Lindsey Leigh Ward (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/suspect-identified-in-fatal-colorado-highway-9-crash-near-blue-river\/\">Lindsey Leigh Ward<\/a>, the woman responsible for causing a fatal crash on Colorado Highway 9 while drunken driving last year, pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide during a hearing at the Summit County Justice Center on Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>Ward appeared in custody for the hearing in person, along with attorneys and Chief Judge Mark Thompson, who donned a face mask throughout the proceedings as justice system officials continue to make adjustments in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Others tuned into the meeting via the court\u2019s virtual WebEx system to watch the disposition.<\/p>\n<p>On Aug. 30, 2019, law enforcement agents with Colorado State Patrol and Summit County Sheriff\u2019s Office responded to a report of a double rollover on Highway 9 just north of Blue River, according to police reports of the incident.<\/p>\n<p>On scene, medical personnel confirmed that two individuals, later identified as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/victims-of-colorado-highway-9-crash-identified-as-summit-county-residents-ben-mitton-niki-gough\/\">41-year-old Benjamin Mitton and 43-year-old Nichole Gough<\/a>, were killed in the crash. Witnesses told police that Ward was driving southbound on the highway before swerving across the center dividing line into the northbound lane and colliding with the other vehicle.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"row sd-donation sd-donation-mobile p-0\" readability=\"7\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\" onclick=\"handleDonationButtonClickMidArticle()\">Donate<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Police found Ward\u2019s car down an embankment just south from the crash site. The other vehicle was turned over on its side in the road.<\/p>\n<p>Ward was taken to St. Anthony Summit Medical Center in Frisco, where she underwent blood draws and breath tests. The blood tests were sent to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, and experts were later able to estimate her blood alcohol level at 0.290 at the time of the crash, more than three times the legal limit, according to the Fifth Judicial District Attorney\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n<p>She was booked at the Summit County jail on charges of vehicular homicide and driving under the influence. In September, the District Attorney\u2019s Office formally charged Ward with two counts of vehicular homicide-DUI and two counts of vehicular homicide-reckless driving.<\/p>\n<p>In January, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Ward pleaded not guilty to all four charges (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/woman-accused-in-fatal-colorado-highway-9-crash-pleads-not-guilty-trial-date-set-for-june\/\">Ward pleaded not guilty to all four charges<\/a>, and Thompson set a date for a weeklong trial in June. Though, Ward and her representation changed their tune before the trial began, choosing instead to accept a plea agreement.<\/p>\n<div class=\"p402_hide\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Ward-SDN-042920-1024x683.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-382390\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Ward-SDN-042920-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Ward-SDN-042920-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Ward-SDN-042920-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Ward-SDN-042920-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Ward-SDN-042920-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption><strong>Chief Judge Mark Thompson wears a mask in the courtroom during a hearing at the Summit County Justice Center in Breckenridge on Tuesday, April 28.<\/strong><br \/><em>Liz Copan \/ <a href=\"mailto:ecopan@summitdaily.com\">ecopan@summitdaily.com<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>During the hearing Tuesday, Ward pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular homicide-DUI, both class 3 felonies. The other charges were dropped. As part of the agreement, all parties involved have agreed to a stipulated sentencing range of between eight and 20 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections. Though, Ward also will be screened for eligibility to enter a community corrections facility instead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am very proud of the investigative work completed by our troopers that led to a successful prosecution in this case,\u201d Colorado State Patrol Chief Col. Matthew Packard said about the outcome. \u201cBenjamin and Nichole lost their lives that evening because of the selfish decision committed by the defendant, but countless more are still feeling the pain from this incident. Drivers must take personal responsibility and choose to never drive impaired.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ward\u2019s sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 15.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/breckenridge-woman-pleads-guilty-to-vehicular-homicide-in-fatal-highway-9-crash\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lindsey Leigh Ward, the suspect in a fatal crash on Colorado Highway 9 on Aug. 30, 2019. Courtesy Summit County Sheriff\u2019s Office BRECKENRIDGE \u2014 Lindsey Leigh Ward, the woman responsible for causing a fatal crash on Colorado Highway 9 while drunken driving last year, pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide during a hearing at the Summit [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-806891","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-12 17:42:22","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=806891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806891\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=806891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=806891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=806891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}