The father of two teenagers involved in a fatal crash last week was charged today as an accomplice in the collision with a school bus in Greeley for allegedly allowing his son to drive without a license.
Cesar Mendoza-Ramirez, 37, is charged with “being a party” to an unlicensed driver and allowing an unlicensed driver to operate a motor vehicle.
The crash on Feb. 2 killed Ramirez’s 15-year-old daughter, Karla Mendoza-Gonzales, and injured his 16-year-old son, Francisco Mendoza-Gonzales, who was driving.
Francisco Mendoza-Gonzales is charged with careless driving resulting in death and careless driving resulting in injury, both Class 1 traffic misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in jail. He faces lesser charges, including being an unlicensed driver.
“Charging the parent is only typical when we have information or evidence that the parent was aware or gave permission to drive knowing they didn’t have a license,” said Greeley police Sgt. Joseph Tymkowych.
The Colorado statute under which the father is charged holds “every person who commits, conspires to commit, or aids or abets in the commission of any act … is guilty of such offense or liable for such infraction …”
The father and son were not arrested but issued summonses to appear in Weld County Court on April 29. Neither has a previous criminal record in Colorado, records indicated.
Mendoza-Gonzales pulled his Chrysler Cirrus sedan from the Stoney Park mobile home park into the bus’ path on F Street just after 7 a.m. on Feb. 2.
Another student Nehemias Pizarro, 14, was also injured in the crash.
Some of the 12 students on the bus and its driver received minor injuries.
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
