Prom night is generally seen as a night of youthful fun. For one Boulder High teen it resulted in a fatal crash leaving two dead and nine others indicted in relation to that crash.
On April 9, a 17-year-old Boulder High student is alleged to have left a post-prom party to obtain more alcohol. During her journey, she drove on the wrong side of Hwy. 157 where she collided head-on with a 2018 Subaru Legacy.
The Legacy was a Lyft vehicle, occupied by Gregoria Morales Ramerez and was driven by Ori Tsioni. Both died in the collision.
Driving a 2006 Honda Accord, Diana Perez Spencer crashed into the Legacy from behind, breaking several of her ribs.
Officers allege that the teen driver was intoxicated at the time of the crash and has been since charged with multiple counts of Vehicular Homicide and Vehicular Assault.
Officers launched an investigation exploring how and where the juvenile driver consumed alcohol, according to a statement released by the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office.
“Many of the witnesses refused to speak with investigators about that night,” the statement read.
The investigation was presented to a Grand Jury which issued subpoenas for witnesses to testify to events that led to the crash, according to the statement.
According to the indictment issued by the Grand Jury, several Boulder High School students obtained fake IDs from online sites IDGod and OldIronSidesFakes in order to purchase alcohol.
The teens also shared that is known that they could purchase alcohol from Willow Springs Wines & Spirits, a practice many students participated in. According to the statement, the store allegedly sold alcohol to several students the day before the prom. The teen was expected to be traveling in the direction of the store when she crashed.
Several students attended a pre-prom party on April 9 in the home of Elise Miller. The indictment statement says Miller did not supervise the students as they consumed alcohol or prevent them from driving while under the influence.
Another pre-prom party was hosted in the home of Charlene and Todd Hoffman. It was revealed during the Grand Jury testimony that underaged persons consumed alcohol in this residence on multiple occasions with the knowledge of the Hoffmans.
Students from both pre-prom parties left via party bus that drove them to the prom. One party bus, driven by Mike Johnson from Denver 24/7 Limo, LLC had strict rules prohibiting alcohol within 100 feet of the bus and allowed the driver to inspect any bags. Johnson did not inspect any bags and the promgoers brought bags containing alcohol onto the bus, according to the statement. Johnson is said to have told event staff at the prom that “it had been a ‘rough night’ that he was ‘unhappy’ and that there was ‘a lot of alcohol on the bus.’”
Although claiming to have terminated the ride, Johnson returned to the prom to later pick up the same students.
The other party bus, rented from Sunset Luxury Limousines, transported students from the Hoffman party to the prom. Although students carried alcohol onto this bus, drinking was done discreetly and no indictments were filed.
Students riding the Sunset Luxury party bus asked to be dropped off at an alternate location from the one originally scheduled. The alternate location was the home of Pam and Mark Sunderland, which is within walking distance to the Hoffman residence.
After arriving at the Sunderland residence after prom, students went into the basement where more drinking took place with alcohol left from the Hoffman pre-prom party, the party bus alcohol and beer stored in the basement from previous parties, the indictment states.
“The Sunderland parents cooked frozen pizzas and brought them down to the underage persons. They left the basement and did not return,” according to the statement.
It is from this post-prom party that the 17-year-old teen left to obtain more alcohol and crashed into the Subaru Legacy killing two people.
“As a result of the Grand Jury’s investigation, the Grand Jury returned nine (9) Indictments. The Indictments allege that two companies sold fake identification to numerous high school students, a liquor store regularly sold alcohol to underage persons, the driver of a party bus allowed students to drink on the party bus, and several adults aided and facilitated in underage persons drinking alcohol on that night and on prior occasions. Furthermore, it is alleged that the adults did not supervise these underage persons or seek to prevent them from later driving under the influence of alcohol,” the DA’s statement reads.
A grand jury indictment is merely a formal accusation that an individual committed a crime under Colorado laws. Criminal charges are accusations only and all parties are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
"The individuals who have been indicted were directed to surrender. That process is underway. The corporations have been given a date to appear which has been set for October 7th," according the Boulder County DA's office.
