Colorado man convicted of murder for DUI killing of Air Force pilot
A family in Colorado may finally get some justice after a drunk driver killed a husband, father, and accomplished Air Force pilot. The pilot died after a Colorado man with a BAC around 2.6 times the legal limit struck his vehicle at a gas station. Now, long after the crime, courts found the drunk Chevy Silverado driver guilty of 12 crimes.
A Colorado jury found a man guilty of murder for his actions behind the wheel that killed an Air Force pilot and injured others
A senseless, untimely death is a horrible thing. And while peace and closure are difficult to come by, justice can help. It took a while, but a Colorado family might get a semblance of justice after an intoxicated man struck their vehicle, killing an Air Force pilot and father of four.
Rewind to the incident itself. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Kyle Anderson was driving back from a day at the Douglas County Fair in Colorado with his family in his Toyota Sequoia. Realizing he needed fuel, Anderson pulled into a gas station in Castle Rock. He started to put fuel into the SUV when a Chevrolet Silverado turned into the station.
The 56-year-old driver in the pickup truck was drunk. Real drunk. According to CBS News, the Colorado man had consumed “a bottle” of Fireball Whiskey and two beers before climbing into his truck and hitting the road. The result of all that hooch? The truck’s driver had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.208%. That’s over two-and-a-half times the legal limit of 0.08% in Colorado.
The truck slammed into the stationary Toyota SUV with enough force to pick the Sequoia off its wheels before pushing it through the gas pump. Unfortunately, Anderson was completely unprotected, and the impact caught him between the raised concrete platform and the Sequoia. Although first responders attempted to help the Air Force pilot, he died at a nearby hospital.
The truck driver’s defense attorney assured the courts that, while “tragic,” he had no “malicious intent” toward Lieutenant Colonel Anderson. However, although the killing was not premeditated, the court let the drunk driver have it. For starters, the courts convicted him of murder for the criminally negligent act. However, they also convicted him of 11 other crimes, including attempted murder counts and DUI.
