Pueblo man pleads guilty in DUI wreck that killed 3 people, including 12-year-old

A Pueblo man recently pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide, according to district court records.

Kohen Kyle, 32, pleaded guilty in late June to three counts of vehicular homicide in a plea deal with the 10th Judicial District Attorney's Office. In exchange for his guilty plea, all other charges were dropped.

Kyle was originally charged with three counts of first-degree murder, three counts each of vehicular homicide — reckless, and vehicular homicide — DUI, and one count of child abuse resulting in death.

The plea agreement stipulates that Kyle will serve between 36 and 55 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections, and serve a mandatory three years of parole upon release.

He will also be required to pay restitution to the victims' families. The amount of restitution has not yet been determined.

Kyle was initially charged after an August 2023 crash in which 56-year-old Marie Quintana, her 12-year-old grandchild, and 48-year-old Jesus Guerrero Lopez were killed after Kyle hit their vehicle head-on while driving southbound in the northbound lane of North Purcell Boulevard.

During a preliminary hearing, Trooper Paul Clark, a crash reconstruction expert for Colorado State Patrol Troop 2D, stated that data taken from Kyle's vehicle showed he was going 107 mph at the point of impact, with no braking, and may have been going up to 120 mph shortly before the crash. Clark stated that based on the data, he believed the accelerator was pressed to the floor at the time of impact.

The speed limit in the area where the crash occurred is 45 mph.

Tyler Johnson, a deputy with the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office, testified during the hearing that during an interview at a local hospital, Kyle admitted to him that he was responsible for the crash.

Kyle allegedly told the deputy that he and his girlfriend had broken up that morning and that he had gone to a liquor store before the crash and purchased a bottle of Crown Royal whiskey. He told the deputy that he then went home and proceeded to drink at least six shots before attempting to drive to a friend's house and crashing head-on into Quintana's vehicle.

According to a toxicology report, Kyle also had prescription medication and cocaine in his system at the time of the crash.

Kyle will be sentenced by Judge William Alexander on Aug. 29.

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