Woman charged with vehicular assault in reported DUI crash
Dec. 27—A woman accused of causing a three-car crash that left a man brain dead earlier this month has been charged with vehicular assault.
Fiona Alspaugh, 22, is charged with vehicular assault — DUI, DUI, careless driving resulting in injury and child abuse.
According to an arrest affidavit, Alspaugh caused a three-vehicle wreck Dec. 18 in the area of Pike Road and Industrial Circle.
A passenger in one of the other vehicles had to be airlifted to Denver with serious injuries.
Family and friends identified the victim as Tahner Forsyth, 30, and said Forsyth was declared brain-dead Thursday afternoon.
As for whether charges could be changed based on Forsyth's condition, Boulder District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Shannon Carbone said prosecutors will continue to evaluate the facts of the case.
"Generally speaking, in any case where the victim's injuries worsen over time or someone dies as a result of an incident, our office carefully examines the evidence to determine if higher-level charges should be filed," Carbone said. "Our prosecution team is meeting with a family member of the victim later this week. We will provide an update on the charges in the days ahead."
Child abuse charges were filed because police said that Alspaugh's 2-year child was in her car, but was not injured.
According to the affidavit, a witness called police and said Alspaugh had been driving erratically before the crash, and was "all over the road." The witness said Alspaugh almost struck the curb several times while she was driving.
An officer said Alspaugh smelled of alcohol and failed a field sobriety test. She was taken into custody after being medically evaluated at Longmont United Hospital.
She was released on a $20,000 personal recognizance bond and is set for a status conference Jan. 10.
Alspaugh has no prior criminal record in Colorado, according to online records.
