A 31-year-old Centennial man — who tried to kill his son by crashing his car in which the toddler was intentionally unrestrained — was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison.
Nathan Weitzel, who was sentenced by Arapahoe District Judge Jeffrey Holmes, pleaded guilty Feb. 7 to one count of first-degree attempted murder after deliberation, according to the district attorney’s office.
“This was a very serious crime in which an innocent child was hurt and very easily … could have been dead,” Holmes said during sentencing.
On Aug. 21, 2016, Weitzel, driving his Acura sedan about 75 mph, crashed into several parked cars in the 6000 block of Eudora Way. He was wearing his seatbelt, but his son, age 2½, in the backseat was not restrained in any way.
Weitzel told investigators he had been using cocaine and wanted to kill the boy because being a father was a big responsibility and he didn’t think he was man enough to raise a child, prosecutors said.
Weitzel’s son suffered serious injuries in the crash.
“The person most expected to protect this child tried to do him the ultimate harm,” District Attorney George Brauchler said. “It is impossible for any parent to fathom how anyone could do what this father did to his young, innocent son.”
In exchange for a guilty plea, six other charges against Weitzel were dropped. He also was sentenced to five years of parole after his prison term.
