Driver of truck involved in fatal accident appears in court

Defense attorney seeking accident reconstruction expert

By Mark Reaman

The 18-year-old Washington state man accused of vehicular homicide in the November 5 fatal car crash involving 38-year-old Heather Cooper of Crested Butte will next appear in court the afternoon of December 11 for arraignment. Dylan Blessing-Garcia appeared in Gunnison County Court on Tuesday where Judge Ashley Burgemeister informed him and his attorney Mark Rubinstein that he will be bound over to district court at that time. Blessing-Garcia will appear in person while his attorney will be remote.

Blessing-Garcia was headed north near the Roaring Judy Fish Hatchery and is cited with passing a car in a clearly marked no-passing zone in a GMC Sierra truck when he struck Cooper’s car that was heading south. While Cooper was pronounced dead at the scene, Blessing-Garcia was treated at the Gunnison Valley Hospital for minor injuries before he was released and ultimately charged with vehicular homicide.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Rubinstein told the judge he preferred a January trial date at the earliest since he was planning on hiring an “accident reconstruction expert” and that process takes some time. The Colorado State Patrol already has such an accident reconstruction expert working on the case. Burgemeister said she could not make timeline decisions beyond early January for the district court, and she reminded Rubinstein the victim’s family is also entitled to a timely hearing and resolution of the case.

There was some discussion over the $5,000 bond imposed on Blessing-Garcia in this case. Burgemeister indicated that because the situation resulted in a death, the bond should have been up to $25,000. But once the defendant posted the bond, which he did the afternoon of the accident, the bond cannot be changed unless there is some type of violation, which has not happened.

The judge did impose a protection order making clear Blessing-Garcia cannot intimidate anyone involved in the case. Blessing-Garcia’s next court appearance is set for 3:30 p.m. in the afternoon on December 11.