BROOMFIELD, Colo. — A man who drove drunk and caused a crash that killed a mother and her son in Broomfield was sentenced to 24 years in prison Friday.
Jose Menjivar, 37, pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular homicide on Sept. 19 in connection with the crash that killed 46-year-old Melissa Powell and 16-year-old Riordan Powell.
> Video above from Dec. 2023: Man charged in fatal DUI was awaiting bed in work release program.
The 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office said in a release that on Dec. 12, 2023, Menjivar drove his pickup truck at speeds between 80 and 100 mph in a 40 mph zone near Main Street and Miramonte Boulevard. He crossed the double yellow centerline as he passed other vehicles and ran into Melissa Powell's SUV as she turned left from Miramonte Boulevard onto Main Street.
The release said officers smelled an "overwhelming" odor of alcohol coming from Menjivar's truck. There were at least two empty beer cans and an open beer can in the truck. A blood draw determined that his blood alcohol content was .249, more than three times the legal limit, the release said.
Menjivar is believed to have at least five previous DUI convictions spanning back to 2007, according to the release. On Dec. 8, 2023, four days before the crash, he was sentenced to a year in a jail work release program for three separate DUIs in Boulder, but was waiting for a bed to open up before he could serve his sentence.