A 16-year-old boy has been charged with the unlawful termination of a pregnancy in a that critically injured a pregnant woman and left her unborn child dead.
Two others, including the woman’s 18-month-old son, also were injured in the wreck.
Nicholas Decker faces one count of careless driving resulting in unlawful termination of a pregnancy, a Class 1 misdemeanor. He has been charged in adult court and faces three counts of careless driving, the 17th Judicial District attorney’s office said Thursday.
“For this type of offense, the juvenile court does not have jurisdiction after someone turns 16,” said Sue Lindsay, spokeswoman for the office.
Leah Montgomery, 33, was 22 weeks pregnant and walking with her toddler in a stroller Feb. 18 at an intersection near Horizon High School. Authorities say Decker’s vehicle collided with another car, which then hit the family as they walked on a sidewalk.
Montgomery’s mother, accompanying the two, also was struck, officials say.
A man who witnessed the crash that Montgomery was bleeding from her face and had a broken arm. Another witness said he saw a body fly through the air in the crash.
Police said the driver of the vehicle that Decker’s vehicle hit was also a teen. The crash happened near Holly Street and East 138th Avenue.
In a statement , Montgomery’s husband, a school resource , said through a family spokesman that his wife faced an “extensive recovery period.”
The Montgomerys had planned to name their unborn daughter Carly Marie.
Decker, who turns 17 on April 24, is set to be arraigned May 4 in Adams County court.
The deaths of unborn children have become the center of heated debate in Colorado after a woman’s in Longmont last month.
In that case, Dynel Lane, 34, was to the dismay of many who felt she should have been charged with murder.
Legislators are working on introducing a fetal homicide bill at the Capitol this session.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JesseAPaul
