Police say that they think a man may have been drunk when his van allegedly went through a red light and plowed into a car in Colorado. The driver of that van, a man who is 50 years old and who is from Carbondale, did not suffer from any serious injuries since he was wearing his seat belt when the crash took place.

The woman in the other car, who was 65 years old, was not as fortunate. She had neglected to put her seat belt on when she got into the vehicle, and she was badly hurt in the wreck. She had to be taken over to the Denver Health Medical Center by helicopter to get treatment. However, even with care from that facility, she eventually succumbed to her injuries and passed away.

The police did arrest the driver of the van, and he was originally going to go up against charges of vehicular assault. Since the woman has now passed away, though, there is a chance that those charges could be upgraded to vehicular homicide.

The accident happened where Catherine Store Road and Highway 82 come together. Witnesses to the accident said that the van was out on Highway 82, and it was going eastward. The woman's car was running perpendicular to that, heading northward on Catherine Store Road. The violent collision happened when the van rammed into the driver's side of the car.

The impact was so great that the cars remained stuck together when they stopped moving.

When facing charges for drunk driving that are compounded by the result of an accident, it is crucial that individuals who have been accused know exactly what legal options they have before a court case begins.

Source: Post Independent, "Police: Suspected drunken driver may be charged in woman’s death" Aug. 12, 2014