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Driver in 2017 fatal crash near Kremmling gets 30-day jail sentence

The driver in a fatal car crash that took the life of 29-year-old Justin Ketchum near Kremmling in March 2017 has been sentenced to 30 days in jail after failing to complete the terms of her deferred judgment and sentence.

Anna Gates, 22, and Ketchum were traveling down Highway 40 near milepost 181, about three miles west of Kremmling, when the car veered off the road and rolled down an embankment, officials from the Colorado State Patrol told Sky-Hi News last year. Ketchum was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead on scene. Gates sustained only minor injuries.

Gates pleaded guilty to a charge of careless driving resulting in a death, and accepted a deferred judgment and sentence for six months. Careless driving resulting in a death is a class 1 misdemeanor punishable by 10 days to one year in jail, $300 to $1,000 in fines, or both.

As part of the settlement, Gates was ordered to complete 24 hours of useful public service, make a charitable contribution to D.A.R.E. and serve two days in jail.

In October 2017, Kathryn Dowdell, deputy district attorney for the Fourteenth Judicial District, made a motion to revoke the sentence on the grounds that Gates never arrived to serve her jail sentence. The two parties returned to court on the issue April 30.

County Judge Nicholas Catanzarite determined that Gates did indeed violate the terms of her deferred sentence. Her deferred judgment was revoked, and she was re-sentenced to serve 30 days in jail, which she will do in Grand County.


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