CENTENNIAL — The Aurora fire chief’s wife on Friday pleaded guilty to vehicular assault in a hit-and-run crash that injured two children.
Adriene Garcia was charged in May with leaving the scene of an accident with serious bodily injury, a felony, and careless driving with injury, a traffic infraction. She is married to Aurora Fire Chief Mike Garcia.
Adriene Garcia cried throughout Friday’s hearing in Arapahoe County Court. She is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 20. Prosecutors are recommending no prison time.
She is at the intersection of East Yale Avenue and South Peoria Street. She was driving a Nissan Pathfinder when she rear-ended a Hyundai stopped at a traffic light, according to Aurora Police Department reports.
Two children who were passengers in the Hyundai One was admitted for a broken jaw.
About 20 minutes after the crash was reported, police found Garcia’s Pathfinder stopped about 4½ miles away, police reported. Witnesses said her airbag had deployed and that she seemed dazed.
Garcia called her husband. He came to the scene, and she was allowed to leave with him.
Shortly after the collision, police said drugs and alcohol were not suspected as a cause of the crash.
Later, Danny Foster, Garcia’s attorney, said she had suffered from a brain injury in a previous crash that had caused erratic behavior off and on for years.
Noelle Phillips: 303-954-1661, nphillips@denverpost.com or twitter.com/Noelle_Phillips
