Loveland – A Berthoud teen pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to reckless driving in a crash that cost two of her high school classmates their legs.
Michelle Berra, 18, was joined in Larimer County Court by dozens of friends and family members as she made her plea.
“This has been very emotionally and financially draining,” her mother, Marina Berra, said afterward.
Her lawyer, John Chanin, said he and the Berra family were “disappointed” that the district attorney’s office decided to pursue charges.
“But we’re confident that Michelle is going to be vindicated,” Chanin said.
Berra is scheduled to go on trial Oct. 9 on suspicion of two counts of misdemeanor reckless driving that caused an injury.
The case stems from a Jan. 15 crash in which Berra rear-ended classmates Nikko Landeros and Tyler Carron, who police said were stopped on the road to change a flat tire.
The two boys, both 17 at the time, had to have their legs amputated. They were high school wrestlers.
The boys were not in court Tuesday. Neither they nor their families could be reached for comment.
In a legal filing Friday, Chanin said a lawyer representing Landeros and Carron sent a letter to Isuzu, the company that made the boys’ sport utility vehicle, demanding money because of a “defective design” of the taillights that the lawyer said contributed to the crash.
That lawyer, Mark Davis, could not be reached for comment. If true, the letter would be arguing the same thing Berra’s attorney claims: that Berra could not see the vehicle’s taillights and therefore did not have time to stop.
Chanin has also said the boys contributed to the crash because they had been drinking and did not pull off of the road to change the flat.
Staff writer Nick Martin can be reached at 303-954-1698 or nmartin@denverpost.com.
