The that severed a man’s legs admitted to using heroin days earlier and to taking non-prescribed Xanax the day prior, according to a probable cause arrest affidavit released Wednesday.
The driver, 19-year-old Dylan Gottschling, may have also been texting on his cellphone while driving at the time of the crash, according to police.
Boulder police said at about 5:30 p.m. Monday, Gottschling was traveling east on Aurora Avenue when he collided with a stationary Toyota 4Runner. The 4Runner was then propelled into the rear of the victim’s legally parked Toyota Sequoia on the side of the road. The victim, identified as Craig Towler,was then pinned between the vehicles and suffered “bilateral amputations below the knees,” according to the probable cause arrest affidavit.
Towler was immediately taken to Boulder Community Hospital and later flown to Denver Health Medical Center, where he is still undergoing treatment.
According to the affidavit, Boulder police Sgt. Lauri Wegscheider spoke with Gottschling at the scene and noted his eyes were “blood-shot and watery,” and that Gottschling admitted to being a recovering heroin addict. He also admitted to taking two Xanax the day prior.
He also admitted he was “looking down at his phone making a music selection when the crash occurred.” But according to the probable cause arrest affidavit, Wegscheider said that Gottschling had earlier admitted he was texting at the time of the crash.
Gottschling also told police he used roughly one gram of heroin during the day Friday, despite his efforts to “try to stay clean.” He said he takes Xanax, which he does not have a prescription for, to “come off the high from heroin,” according to the affidavit.
The affidavit said Gottschling was traveling about 40 miles per hour at the time of the crash, launching the 4Runner about 12 feet into the parked Sequoia. That estimated speed, as well as the “phone manipulation” while driving, accounts for the reckless component in the case, it said.
Gottschling was arrested on suspicion of two counts of vehicular assault — one for driving under the influence — along with one count of texting while driving and failure to present valid proof of insurance, according to the Boulder District Attorney’s office.
Gottschling has a bond at $15,000, and is scheduled to be formally charged at 1:30 p.m. Friday.
