FORT COLLINS, Colo.-
Attorneys for a teenager charged in a crash that injured two Berthoud High School wrestlers plan to argue their client did not solely cause the accident, according to court documents.
The documents, obtained by KUSA-TV in Denver, include allegations that the victims had been drinking.
Michelle Berra, of Berthoud, was charged with two counts of careless driving after her vehicle struck the back of another vehicle along County Road 17 late Jan. 15. Tyler Carron and Nikko Landeros were standing behind the struck vehicle at the time, preparing to change a flat tire.
Both boys were pinned between the vehicles and had both their legs amputated.
In the documents obtained by KUSA-TV, Berra’s attorneys outline their planned defense.
They allege Carron and Landeros had been drinking, rode on the flat tire for about a mile, and passed six residential driveways where they could have pulled over safely, according to the court filing dated Friday.
The document also alleged that Carron and Landeros obstructed their vehicle’s tail lights when they stood behind the vehicle.
No one at the crash scene was given alcohol testing, but Carron and Landeros were tested when they were admitted to the hospital, KUSA-TV reported.
Carron’s father, Bruce Carron, said Sunday that he was shocked by the court filing.
“They’ve hurt these boys enough. They’re trying to take the spirit out of these boys. We don’t understand it all,” he told The Associated Press.
He said he had heard no reports that the boys were drinking. “We’re going to look into it. That’s not the issue anyway. She still ran into them,” Carron said.
In a joint statement to KUSA, the Carron and Landeros families said that due to the weather and snowplowed roads, the boys stopped their vehicle in the only spot available.
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Information from: KUSA-TV,
