Crime & Safety
4 Years For Driver In Rollover Wreck That Killed Evergreen Teen
Daltyn Drake Hollon, 21, will serve a prison term for reckless driving in the rollover accident that killed Rachel Hern, 16, on Highway 74.
GOLDEN, CO – The driver in a rollover wreck that killed an Evergreen teen last year was sentenced to prison Thursday.
Daltyn Drake Hollon, 21, was sentenced to four years in prison in Jefferson County District Court, the JeffCo District Attorney's Office said. Hollon entered a guilty plea in January of reckless driving causing the death of 16-year-old Rachel Hern.
Prosecutors said on Jan. 20, 2018, Hollon was at the wheel of a 2000 Chevy Cavalier traveling westbound on Hwy 74 approaching Divide View Road, when it lost control around a curve and spun 180 degrees. The car slid across the highway, flipped over the center median and crossed into the eastbound lanes continuing to rotate until it hit a concrete barrier.
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Rachel and another passenger, age 19, were thrown from the backseat and injured. They were transported to a hospital where Rachel later died of her injuries. Hollon and the two other passengers received minor injuries in the crash. Alcohol and drugs were not suspected as factors in the accident.
Hern had been a student at Evergreen High School and had attended Wilmot Elementary, Evergreen Middle School and Conifer High School, the Canyon Courier reported.
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The Jefferson County Sheriff's office announced a special seatbelt patrol in Evergreen and other mountain towns this month.
Rachel's mother, RaeAnn Hern, and friends and supporters have tried to raise awareness among teens to wear their seatbelts.
"If I could show a picture of Rachel in her hospital bed, I would, to save another kid. It only takes a second to make the wrong choice," RaeAnn Hern told 9NEWS in February.
In a GoFundMe account, set up by family friends, RaeAnn remembered Rachel as a girl with "a heart of gold," the RaeAnn said. "She made sure to make others feel good and stuck up to all of the bullies in school!"
Related: JeffCo Announces Seatbelt Patrols In Mountain Towns
Related: Mother Of Evergreen Teen Killed In Rollover Wreck Urges Seatbelts
Related: Driver Pleads Guilty In Rollover Wreck That Killed Evergreen Teen
Related: Driver In Rollover Wreck That Killed Teen Appears In Court
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