Attorneys for a teen charged with reckless driving after a crash that cost two Berthoud High School wrestlers their legs said today they felt they had no choice but to argue that the driver was not solely responsible for the collision.
Michelle Berra, 17, of Berthoud was driving a car that struck another that was stopped for a flat tire on a dark rural road on Jan. 15, authorities said. Tyler Carron and Nikko Landeros were pinned between the vehicles, and doctors amputated their legs after the wreck.
Documents obtained by KUSA-TV in Denver indicated Berra’s attorneys may argue that Carron and Landeros had been drinking, traveled on the flat tire for about a mile and passed six residential driveways where they could have pulled over safely.
The document also alleged that Carron and Landeros obstructed their vehicle’s tail lights when they stood behind the vehicle.
“Ms. Berra and her family were reluctant to bring these matters forward because she felt the boys had already suffered enough,” Berra’s attorney, John Chanin, said in a written statement. “Now that the district attorney is pressing forward with the criminal case, we had no choice but to defend our client properly.”
The families of Carron and Landeros have said the boys stopped in the only spot available because of snow.
Carron’s father, Bruce, has said he was shocked by the revelations of the possible defense strategy.
“They’ve hurt these boys enough. They’re trying to take the spirit out of these boys. We don’t understand it all,” he said.
