No charges for trooper in officer-involved crash
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) — No charges are going to be filed against the Colorado State Patrol trooper involved in a car crash in Grand Junction earlier this year.
On July 27, a marked Colorado State Patrol F150 truck collided with a civilian Kia Rio sedan at the intersection of K Road and 22 Road.
CSP trooper Brad Latchaw was driving eastbound on K road in Fruita when the Kio Rio, driving north on 22 Road, drove through the stop sign and into the intersection. The F150 slammed into the driver’s side of the car. Investigators determined Trooper Latchaw was driving 53 mph at the time of the crash. A crash reconstruction showed both vehicles left the road with the Kia Rio rolling over several times before coming to rest on its tires.
2 people were in the Kia Rio. The man who was driving the car was pinned in the vehicle during the accident. Lower Valley Fire District firefighters used the jaws of life to remove him from the car. The woman passenger was found unconscious after the accident but she was breathing. LVFD took both people to the hospital.
Grand Junction Fire Department medics later transported Trooper Latchaw to the hospital with early signs of a possible concussion and leg pain.
In a letter to the Critical Incident Response Team, District Attorney Dan Rubinstein advised not to file charges against Trooper Latchaw and is instead issuing a traffic citation to the Kia Rio driver for a traffic violation.
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