WELD COUNTY, Colo. — A Centennial man formally charged in connection with a deadly crash that killed a trooper last month said powerful wind was the cause.
John Carpenter, 58, told 9NEWS the wind along Interstate 76 that day was strong enough to blow his left tires "completely off of the asphalt" just ahead of the time of the crash that killed 52-year-old Colorado State Patrol Cpl Daniel Groves.
Groves was outside his patrol car on the rural stretch of highway helping someone whose vehicle had gone off the road when he was hit and killed.
That was during the "bomb cyclone," a blizzard that brought extremely strong wind gusts and whiteout conditions to much of the Front Range and Eastern Plains, including the area along I-76 where Groves was assisting the motorist.
The Weld County District Attorney on Thursday announced formal charges in connection with that crash.
Carpenter, 58, faces charges of:
- Failure to exercise due care when approaching a stationary vehicle-death (a felony).
- Careless driving causing death.
Carpenter told 9NEWS the accident happened at around 11:30 a.m., and that there was no snow falling.
"There was a lot of wind, but there was no snow," he said.
Carpenter said he was driving his Volvo station wagon from Chicago westbound on I-76.
"I saw the lights of [Groves' patrol vehicle] on the side of the road...I saw his lights about 2.5, 3 miles away on the side of the road," he said.
He also said he was not operating the cruise control on his vehicle, and that he was traveling about 62 mph to 64 mph because "the wind was blowing me all over the road."
"I moved to the left-hand lane so that I could pass the police officer [Cpl. Groves] when the wind blew from the north, which would have been from my passenger side of the vehicle, blowing me toward the center median between east and westbound traffic," Carpenter said.
He said the wind blew his left tires "completely off of the asphalt" and that, as he adjusted his steering to get back onto the road, the wind caused him to "go into a slide."
"My foot was off the accelerator and my car began to spin clockwise and slammed into the trooper," he said.
Carpenter said he came from the far left-hand lane across two lanes of traffic.
"My car was at the mercy of the wind. There was another car off the road also. ... I'm guessing that's why [because of the wind]," he said.
At the time of the crash, CSP said they investigated both poor driving conditions and speed as factors in the crash.
Carpenter's advisement hearing has been scheduled for May 29 in Weld County Court.
Hundreds of law enforcement officials and community members gathered on March 20 to honor Groves at a memorial service in Longmont.
Groves started his CSP career in Frisco, where he "learned how to work in the snow," Packard said.
Groves also formerly worked in CSP's Business Intelligence Unit in Denver.
"The common thing I hear about Dan Groves is that he loved...he absolutely loved...being a CSP trooper," said CSP Chief Matthew Packard. "He absolutely knew what was on the line. ... But he loved doing what he did."
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Packard also said Groves was known among fellow troopers as someone who was always the first person to offer to help.
According to his obituary, Groves is survived by his parents, his partner of more than two years, his siblings and a loving extended family.
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