A driver who was drunk when he crashed and injured his passenger has been sentenced to three years in community corrections.
According to the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office, the driver was working as an Uber driver at the time of the accident, but Uber is disputing this.
Brian Haas, 44, was sentenced in Douglas County District Court last week after he was convicted by a jury for vehicular assault-DUI, driving under the influence with two or more priors and careless driving resulting in injury in March, stated the DA's press release.
On Jan. 20, 2017, a 38-year-old woman used the Uber app, according to the DA's Office, to request a ride home from a grocery store in Aurora.
After this story was published, 9NEWS was contacted by Andrew Hasbun, senior communications associate, Safety of Uber. In an email, he said Uber had been looking into this case.
"The driver last had access to the Uber app nearly three months before the Jan. 20, 2017 incident," Hasbun wrote.
"We have no record of a trip taking place on this date with this driver," Hasbun wrote. "We also have no record of law enforcement or attorneys reaching out to confirm the driver's status with Uber."
The arrest affidavit states Haas said his passenger was his friend and that the woman said she had known Haas for a few weeks. While at the hospital the woman told Douglas County Sheriff's Deputy Mark O'Harold she used the Uber app to contact Haas.
According to the affidavit, the woman was in the front passenger seat of Haas’ Hyundai Elantra at the time of the accident. Deputies determined that Haas was traveling eastbound on East Lincoln Avenue in Douglas County when he tried to turn left onto South Chambers Road, but he failed to yield to oncoming traffic that had a green traffic signal.
Haas collided with a Lexus SUV driven by a 48-year-old man. The driver of the Lexus received a concussion and some nerve damage in his arm; both Haas and his passenger were taken to Parker Adventist Hospital.
The affidavit details how deputies at the scene noticed a strong smell of alcohol in the Hyundai. The deputy who interviewed Haas at the hospital detected alcohol on Haas’ breath and noticed his speech was slurred. A blood test determined his blood-alcohol levels were at 0.228.
The woman in his car needed surgery for several broken ribs.
“This man should never have been behind the wheel, let alone with a paying customer,” said Deputy District Attorney Daniel Warhola, who tried the case with Deputy District Attorney Joe Whitfield. “When we drive on public roads, we rely on the fact that other drivers are competent and sober. That is why any action such as those taken by this defendant undermine the societal compact and must be taken seriously.”
Prosecutors sought the maximum sentence of six years in prison.
Haas was sentenced to three years in prison for the vehicular assault charge, but that sentence is suspended pending successful completion of the three-year community corrections sentence.
He was sentenced to 120 days in jail on the DUI count, which was also suspended. On the careless driving count, the judge sentenced Haas to 10 days in jail; he has already been in jail for 65 days, so no more jail time need be served.
Haas has a DWAI conviction out of Boulder County in 1996 as well as DWAI out of El Paso County from 1992.
