The 18-year-old driver in a one-car crash that killed another teen Friday night in Missouri Heights has been charged with vehicular homicide, drug possession and drunken driving, sources said Sunday.
Jesse Lloyd, of Carbondale, suffered minor injuries in the accident and was booked into the Garfield County Jail on those charges as well as vehicular assault/reckless driving, third-degree assault and illegal possession or consumption of alcohol by an underage person, according to Colorado State Patrol spokesperson Ivan Alvarado and the jail’s website.
Alvarado said he had no other information about the accident or any alcohol or drug evidence found by investigators in the wreckage. The charges did not specify the type of drug Lloyd possessed.
The accident occurred about 11:45 p.m. Friday on Garfield County Road 102, also known as Fender Lane, after the driver lost control of the vehicle and it collided with a large rock, Alvarado has said. The car rolled and two occupants not wearing seatbelts were ejected.
Tyler Ribich, 16, a Basalt High School junior, was one of those ejected and died instantly at the scene, said Garfield County Coroner Rob Glassmire. The other person was seriously injured and taken to Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs, Alvarado said.
The three wearing seatbelts suffered minor injuries, he said.
Ribich had just been elected to serve as one of two head students during his senior year next year, Basalt High School Principal Peter Mueller said in a text message. He also “brought the house down” as “Jack Scott” in the school’s version of “High School Musical” this year, he said.
Some of the BHS students learned of Ribich’s passing at the Western Slope League track and field championships on Saturday in Grand Junction. BHS track coach Allyson Decatur said the team was given the option of going home early, but they decided to stay and compete in his honor instead.
“After the tears, hugs and hard conversation, they all stayed. Beyond that, they all performed tremendously, getting huge (personal records), qualifying for finals in field events and Sierra (Bower) getting the mile school record,” Decatur said. “They said they wanted to compete for Tyler and so they did. We coaches were extremely proud and it proved the true depth of this team and the true character of each individual. We were truly a track family yesterday.”
Ribich also was remembered Sunday morning at the Basalt Color Run, which was organized by the Basalt High School National Honor Society, at Arbaney Park in Basalt.
“We lost one of our beloved students, Tyler Ribich, Friday night,” Tai Kim, a Basalt High senior, said before the start of the run. “Join me in a moment of silence for Tyler.”
The runners and bikers bowed their heads before setting off on the fundraiser that benefits the Aspen Hope Center, which provides crisis intervention and counseling for residents of the Roaring Fork Valley.
No other information was available Sunday about the accident.