Prosecutors will not file charges against a 19-year-old Greeley man who drove a vehicle during a stunt that went wrong and led to his friend’s drowning.
Darren Bucklen was behind the wheel of an altered 1984 Ford Tempo that he drove into a 25-foot-deep lake at Bucklen Enterprises Sand and Gravel Pit on July 6.
Bucklen and his friend, David Griego Jr., had built a dirt ramp and driven the vehicle into the Bucklens’ private lake as their friend filmed the stunt.
Although both men emerged from the car after it hit the water, Griego struggled to swim and subsequently drowned. His body was recovered the next morning.
Griego also suffered a neck injury but it is hard determine if it resulted from the stunt and directly caused his death, said Weld County District Attorney spokeswoman Jennifer Finch.
“The facts of this case led to the consideration of two possible charges: vehicular homicide or careless driving,” Finch said. “For either charge, the district attorney would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the driving directly caused the death of Griego.”
