A 43-year-old Colorado School of Mines mechanical engineering professor arrested and held overnight in the suspected DUI crash that killed a Golden police officer is being investigated for vehicular homicide and vehicular assault.
Jefferson County Court Judge Thomas Vance on Thursday morning advised Stephen Geer of the charges he could face. Vance set the bond for Geer’s release from custody at $250,000 and scheduled a charging hearing on Nov. 14. Geer has no prior criminal history and deep ties to the community.
A 33-year-old Golden Police Department officer died at the scene of the collision, shortly before 5 p.m. Wednesday amid snowy conditions on Colorado 58 near Washington Avenue in Golden. He hasn’t been identified. Another officer was seriously injured.
The officers were outside their vehicle investigating the initial crash when a vehicle driven by the suspect hit a vehicle along an overpass curve, Golden Police Chief Joe Harvey said late Wednesday.
The two officers were forced under the vehicle from the initial crash and were trapped, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
“There was one officer staged in a police cruiser before the crash scene and two additional officers managing the crash site when a passing vehicle entered the scene. Both officers at the original crash site were struck and forced under the original crashed vehicle,” CSP officials said Thursday morning in a news release.
Geer “was driving in a way that was unsafe on an already unsafe day,” Jeffco senior deputy district attorney Alexa Visscher said at the hearing Thursday morning.
Geer told police he had one 16-ounce beer at a local brewery on Wednesday before the collision at the scene of a crash on icy roads, defense attorney Lindsay Stone said in the hearing.
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“This crash could have happened to anyone…..” Stone said, noting that the prior crash had just occurred and “there was no set-up alerting him to that crash.”
No results from a blood alcohol test were available Thursday morning.
Harvey called the officer who was killed in the line of duty “an amazing human being” who had “a long stellar career in the military, where he flew Blackhawk helicopters and served as a commander.” He is survived by his wife, sister and parents. The other officer was taken to a hospital.
Colorado School of Mines president Paul Johnson issued a statement saying “The Mines community is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of a Golden police officer yesterday and injuries to a second officer while they were responding to a crash on Colorado 58. The officers, their families, their colleagues in the Golden Police Department, and all others closely affected by this devastating event, are in our thoughts and prayers. We grieve with them today, we pray for the recovery of the injured officer, and we will look for ways to offer support during this incredibly difficult time.”
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