A 17-year-old from Berthoud pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges related to a May car accident that resulted in the deaths of two other teens and the injury of a third.
Benjamin Moden was the driver of a Lexus that collided with a pickup truck near the intersection of Larimer County Road 4 and Weld County Road 1 on May 25.
Shawntae Taylor, 15, died at the scene, and 18- year-old Kurtis Soeby died May 28 at Denver Health Medical Center. Both were passengers in Moden’s car. A third passenger, 17-year-old Brendon McBride, was injured.
All three boys were students at Berthoud High School, and Taylor had just finished her freshman year at Webber Junior High in Fort Collins. None of the teens was wearing a seat belt.
The driver of the truck, 68-year-old Leslie Mechem, also sustained injuries, according to police.
Moden pleaded guilty to two counts of careless driving resulting in death, one count of careless driving resulting in bodily injury and one count of disregarding a stop sign at a through highway, said Thea Mustari, spokeswoman for the Weld County district attorney.
All are misdemeanor counts.
Weld County Judge Marcelo Kopcow sentenced Moden to one year in jail that will be served at home under electronic monitoring. Moden will be released for work, school and community service.
He also will serve five years’ probation, which includes a driving class, drug evaluation and 300 hours of community service, Mustari said.
