GOLDEN, Colo. (Apr. 7, 2022) – Miguel Carrera-Barojas (DOB: 5-8-1982) was sentenced on Thursday by the First Judicial District Court to 8 years in the Department of Corrections as the driver in the crash that caused the death of 22-year-old Brooks O’Donnell. On Mar. 2, 2022, Carrera-Barojas pled guilty to Vehicular Homicide – DUI.
“This tragedy should never have happened,” said Deputy District Attorney Kathryn Raynes. “On July 19, 2021, this defendant made the decision to drink and drive and to put this community at risk, and that decision cost a 22-year-old man his life. For Brooks O’Donnell, who paid the ultimate price, and for those who loved him and will forever miss him, we know that nothing can ever make them whole again. We hope though, that the Judge’s sentence provides some sense of justice to the community, and to everyone who knew Brooks.”
On Jul. 19, 2021, at about 2:15am, investigation by the Lakewood Police Department showed that Carrera-Barojas, driving a 2013 Toyota Tacoma, was driving while under the influence of alcohol, on the wrong side of Morrison Road. Driving westbound in the eastbound lane, Carrera-Barojas struck O’Donnell’s Nissan Versa, causing him to roll several times, cross over the barbed-wired fence, and then roll approximately 30 feet down the hill. O’Donnell was pronounced deceased on scene.