RAPID CITY, S.D. — A Colorado truck driver involved in a fatal crash near Rapid City has been charged with vehicular homicide.
Prosecutors say Brian Rasmussen acknowledged using Ambien, a drug to treat sleep insomnia, two days before his truck crossed the median and hit an oncoming Jeep in Friday’s crash on Interstate 90. A 64-year-old woman in the Jeep died.
The Rapid City Journal, citing court documents, reported that a drug recognition expert evaluated the 53-year-old Rasmussen, of De Beque, and found him impaired by a central nervous system depressant. The documents say Rasmussen then acknowledged using Ambien two days before the crash.
Chris Christianson, an attorney for the Denver-based company Rasmussen works for, said there is no evidence proving Rasmussen was under the influence of any substance.
