Aurora Fatal Motorcycle Crash: Littleton DUI Driver Gets 12 Years

CENTENNIAL, CO – A Littleton man who was driving drunk and high when he hit and killed two people on a motorcycle was sentenced Monday to 12 years in prison.

Arapahoe District Judge Ben Leutwyler sentenced Matthew Samuel Smith, 58, for the Sept. 5, 2016, deaths of Brandon Dobson, 21, and Breona Knight, 20, a statement from the 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office said.

There is “no sentence that I can fashion that will fill the hole in the lives of everyone here,” Judge Leutwyler told a courtroom filled with supporters on both sides. “This was an entirely preventable tragedy … It is astounding to me that people drink and drive.”

According to police reports, Smith and a passenger were traveling in a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country minivan southbound on Parker Road in Aurora. Dobson was driving his motorcycle northbound on Parker with Knight as a passenger.

Smith turned left onto East Temple Drive, failing to yield to oncoming traffic. The minivan struck the motorcycle, throwing both riders from the bike, according to reports in the Aurora Sentinel. Neither were wearing helmets. Dobson was pronounced dead at Parker Adventist Hospital. Knight was pronounced dead at Medical Center of Aurora South.

The jury heard how police said samples of Smith's blood, drawn 90 minutes after the crash, showed a blood-alcohol content of 0.54 and presence of cocaine. Police also found five empty 50 ml bottles of peppermint schnapps in the van along with drug paraphernalia.

“The hurt and pain is unbearable – I have lost an extension of myself and no longer feel complete,” Dobson’s mother told the judge during a three-hour sentencing hearing, during which more than 20 supporters of the victims spoke. “We grieve for the life he was denied by Mr. Smith’s selfish and irresponsible actions.”

“A huge piece of my heart died with Breona that day … it is unbearable pain that will never go away,” Knight’s mother said through tears. “Mr. Smith killed my daughter because of his careless decisions … He made a choice to drink, do drugs and drive -- this was 100 percent preventable.”

On May 8, an Arapahoe County jury convicted Smith of two counts of vehicular homicide DUI; two counts of vehicular homicide reckless driving; two counts of reckless manslaughter; and one count of failure to yield right of way.

Leutwyler sentenced Smith to six years in the Colorado Department of Corrections for each death, to be served consecutively. Sentences on the other counts will be served concurrently.

Image via 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office.

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