A Westminster resident has been convicted of two counts of careless driving causing death in connection with an April 2009 Weld County accident that claimed two lives.
Nellie Townsend, 19, faces a possible maximum of two years in jail when sentenced on April 20.
She was convicted of the class one traffic offenses after a three-day trial.
Bruce A. Patterson, 53, of Longmont and James R. Matthews, 52, of Buena Vista, died in the crash.
According to the Colorado State Patrol, five cars were at the intersection of Colorado 66 and County Road 17, about two miles east of Mead, when the accident occurred.
Townsend was eastbound on Colorado State Highway 66 and came upon the vehicles that had slowed at the intersection.
Townsend slammed into the rear of Patterson’s Ford Escort.
The impact pushed the Escort into the westbound lane of the highway, where it was hit head-on by Matthews, who was driving a Dodge pickup.
Townsend suffered moderate injuries and was taken to Northern Colorado Medical center in Greeley.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
