Police are investigating whether a man with a prior drunken driving conviction had been drinking before he caused an accident Monday that killed himself and two other people.
Ryan Ronald Roybal, 22, was speeding when his car crossed a median at West Hampden Avenue at South Federal Boulevard and smashed into a sport utility vehicle and a tow truck, said Sgt. Gary Firko of the Sheridan Police Department.
A passenger in Roybal’s 2000 Oldsmobile Intrigue, Justin Conant, 20, was killed along with 20-year-old Britteny Benson, who was driving a Chevrolet Trailblazer.
Roybal’s car jumped the median, went airborn, crashed head-on into the Trailblazer, rolled over the top of it and then rolled into the front of a tow truck.
Benson was taken to Swedish Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. Myra Aceves, 40, who was a passenger in the Trailblazer, was taken to Denver Health Medical Center, where she was in critical condition.
Roybal, who was thrown from the car, and Conant, who was partially ejected, were pronounced dead at the scene.
Firko said an autopsy was performed on Roybal’s body and toxicology tests will determine whether he was under the influence of alcohol.
When officers arrived at the accident scene they smelled alcohol on Roybal’s breath. A bottle of an alcohol beverage was found near the car. Officers don’t know whether the bottle was thrown from the car during the accident, Firko said.
On Dec. 12, 2003, Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Roybal on a drunken driving charge, according to Jefferson County Court records. Judge Tina Olsen gave him a suspended sentence in which he had to wear an ankle bracelet for 10 days and pay fines.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-820-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
