The young driver involved in Tuesday’s fatal accident should not have had any passengers under 21, according to a state law that took effect July 1.
But Michael Stillwagon, 16, driver of the 2002 Kia that crossed a curb-high median and plowed into oncoming traffic, had three 17-year-olds in the car, Aurora police officials said Wednesday.
Stillwagon and the front-seat passenger, both wearing seat belts, had minor injuries. The teens in the back died.
“This tragedy could have been avoided had there not been distraction of the driver and had the two passengers in the rear seat been belted,” said Aurora police spokesman Marcus Dudley.
Last year’s traffic records show that about two-thirds of teens who died in crashes weren’t belted in.
The law that went into effect at midyear says new drivers cannot have any unrelated passengers under 21 with them until they’ve held a driver’s license for six months. For the second six months they hold the license, new drivers can have one passenger under 21 in the vehicle. An exception to the restrictions exists if there is a licensed adult in the car.
Stillwagon turned 16 in August and had had a license since September. In vehicles operated by drivers under 17, all riders, not just those in the front, must wear seat belts, state law says.
Tuesday’s accident highlights why Colorado legislators passed the law restricting the number of teen passengers in cars of new drivers, said Trooper Eric Wynn of the Colorado State Patrol.
“We want to take all of the distraction and peer pressure out of the equation” for young drivers, he said.
Last year, 93 teen drivers and passengers, ages 16 to 20, were killed in crashes statewide, said Mairi Nelson of the Colorado Department of Transportation.
About two-thirds of those who died were not wearing seat belts; nearly 80 percent of the teen passengers who died were in crashes involving teen drivers.
Tuesday’s accident resembled one in October in which Denver Broncos lineman Dwayne Carswell was seriously injured when two cars crossed the low Parker Road median near East Hampden Avenue and hit his oncoming vehicle.
After the accident, CDOT officials looked into the possibility of installing median barriers on the portion of Parker Road from Interstate 225 to East Lehigh Avenue, said agency spokeswoman Stacey Stegman.
The accident Tuesday occurred in an area of Parker Road near East Temple Drive not under review for barriers.
The preliminary study found “there could be some benefit” to installing barriers, Stegman said, but she noted that median barriers “can cause other hazards,” including cars that hit medians and bounce into traffic.
And earlier this month, Aurora officials asked CDOT to lower the speed limit on Parker from East Quincy Avenue to Temple Drive to 45 mph from the current 55 mph. In a response two weeks ago, a CDOT engineer said a “safety assessment did not identify any unusual accident patterns susceptible to correction” and said CDOT couldn’t justify the change.
Staff writer Jeffrey Leib can be reached at 303-820-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com.
