Party bus driver set for trial in connection with underage drinking prior to fatal crash

May 3—The party bus driver indicted by a grand jury following an investigation into underage drinking the night of a fatal DUI crash in Boulder is set for trial.

Michael Allen Johnson, 63, pleaded not guilty to providing alcohol to minors and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, both misdemeanors.

He is now set for a one-day trial in Boulder County Court on Sept. 12.

Johnson also has a motions hearing on June 30 and a pre-trial readiness conference on Sept. 8.

Five parents, two companies and a Boulder liquor store were all indicted by a grand jury following an investigation into a fatal crash in 2022 in which a juvenile driver killed Ori Tsioni, 33, and Gregoria Morales Ramirez, 49, and seriously injured Diane Spencer while driving the wrong way down Foothills Parkway.

The driver, Natalie Hill, pleaded guilty to charges including vehicular homicide and vehicular assault and was sentenced to nine months of work release and three years of probation.

According to the indictment, prior to the crash Hill and other Boulder High students were drinking at a house of a parent prior to their prom on April 9, 2022.

The students then boarded a party bus driven by Johnson. The company's reservation agreement prevented alcohol from being within 100 feet of the bus, required that all bags were stored in the trunk of the bus and required the driver to inspect the contents of the bags, but none of those rules were followed, according to the indictment.

Instead, the teens brought bags containing alcohol onto the bus, and one student recalled that the entire bus smelled like alcohol.

When the bus arrived at the prom, staff with Boulder High School and the Church Ranch Event Center in Westminster — where the prom was held — noticed that students exiting Johnson's party bus were visibly intoxicated, according to an affidavit. Witnesses said two students were so drunk they fell on the pavement.

Staffers were unable to identify all of the students coming off the bus or stop all of them as they passed by but several teens were taken into an area designed for intoxicated students.

Staff also noticed bottles of alcohol on the floor or sides of the bus, and one water bottle that fell off the bus that smelled like alcohol.

According to the indictment, Johnson told staff it was a "rough night," and that there was "a lot of alcohol" on the bus. He said he terminated the ride, but he returned later to pick up the same students he dropped off.