The woman whose SUV went flying in Thornton three months ago and crushed a small pickup, killing an entire family, was arrested Friday evening on homicide charges.
Adams County District Attorney Don Quick announced Monica Chavez is being charged with five counts of criminally negligent homicide in connection with the deaths of the Stollsteimer family.
Each count potentially carries a one- to three-year prison sentence.
The charges were filed Thursday, according to court records, and Chavez turned herself in to police on Friday, later posting a $5,000 bond.
Police said Chavez’s southbound Ford Expedition reached speeds of up to 100 mph on Grant Street during the evening rush hour Feb. 17.
At the intersection at East 84th Avenue, her SUV clipped the rear of another vehicle and launched off a median. It landed on a Chevrolet pickup carrying the Stollsteimer family and then slid into the Urban Mattress store at 450 E. 84th Ave.
The accident instantly killed Randy Stollsteimer, 34; his wife, Crystaldawn, 31; and their three sons: Sebastian, 12; Darrian, 9; and Cyrus, 6.
Chavez and her two children, ages 5 and 10, who were in the vehicle with her, were treated at the hospital and released.
Official toxicology tests determined Chavez had neither drugs nor alcohol in her system at the time of the crash.
But for months investigators have been looking into Chavez’s medical records and checking the mechanics of her vehicle.
Investigators have turned the case over to the district attorney’s office, and details about what they found are not being released.
Speaking through a spokesman, Chavez has said that she believes she suffered some type of seizure at the time of the incident and that she doesn’t remember what happened.
“They maintain their innocence,” said Mark Lopez, pastor of Westside Christian Fellowship in Denver, who is speaking for the Chavez family.
“They were not aware of any diagnosis prior to this that would tell her she was susceptible to any kind of seizures, though she is on medication now,” Lopez said Friday night.
He was unsure what kind of medication Chavez is now taking but said it is for seizures.
Hank Stollsteimer, Randy Stollsteimer’s uncle, said Friday night that the family has put its trust in the investigators while waiting for them to piece together the events and determine what justice is required.
“It’s a little bit of a comfort that something is being put together about what happened,” he said.
“Nothing’s going to make it better, but this is what we’ve been patiently waiting for. We just wanted to get the facts straight.”
The charges Chavez faces are less-severe Class 5 felonies, compared with vehicular homicide charges, which are Class 3 felonies.
Krista Flannigan, spokeswoman for the district attorney, said she could not comment specifically on the case but said the difference between the charges lies in negligent behavior as opposed to the reckless behavior required to charge someone with vehicular homicide.
Lopez said Chavez and her husband will fight “tooth and nail” to keep their family together.
Yesenia Robles: 303-954-1372 or yrobles@denverpost.com
