Trial for dump truck driver in fatal crash near Longmont moved back to 2022

Mitchell Byars, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.
·2 min read

Sep. 21—The dump truck driver accused of causing a crash that killed a 17-year-old last year west of Longmont had his trial pushed back to 2022.

Sean Daniel Souders, 54, pleaded not guilty in June to vehicular homicide, criminal mischief causing $100,000 to $1 million in damage, third-degree assault and two counts of reckless driving.

Souders had been set for a trial starting Nov. 8, but that trial date was canceled, according to online court records. He is now set for a seven-day trial starting Jan. 18.

Souders remains in custody at the Boulder County Jail.

Colorado State Patrol investigators say Souders was driving a white Kenworth T60 dump truck that officials say first crashed into a convertible on July 24 in the 9800 block of North 51st Street, and then crashed into a house near the intersection of North 51st Street and Nelson Road.

The driver of the convertible, Kelsey Skokan, 17, of Longmont, died as a result of the crash. Souders and and his 21-year-old passenger were taken to a hospital with serious injuries. A 22-year-old passenger in the convertible, identified by family as Ian Fleming, suffered moderate injuries.

The home the truck crashed into also belonged to the Skokan family, and the damage was estimated at more than $100,000.

Souders told Colorado State Patrol troopers his steering went out as he was navigating the right hand curvature in the roadway, but the passenger in the dump truck told investigators Souders was traveling too fast and lost control, according to an arrest affidavit.

Tire marks at the scene showed the dump truck crossed the center line and also indicated the dump truck was turning before the crash but not enough to stay in the lane.

A crash reconstruction determined Souders was traveling at a minimum speed of 51.32 mph, the affidavit states, in a 35-mph zone.

Investigators inspected the dump truck and stated it was in proper mechanical condition with no observable malfunctions, according to an affidavit.