Early Monday morning a Ford Expedition collided with a Chevy Camaro. Ever Olivas-Gutierrez is suspected of being the driver of the Explorer. Juan Carlos Dominguez-Palomino, the driver of the Camaro, died as a result of the crash. It is estimated that Olivas-Gutierrez was going double the speed limit at Colfax and Dayton when he ran a red light, hitting Dominguez-Palomino. Olivas-Gutierrez has a history of DUI’s and is suspected of DUI in this incident.
Olivas-Gutierrez is currently in the hospital due to injuries he sustained. He will be held on a warrant previously issued for a traffic offense. Law enforcement also plans to issue an affidavit in support of warrantless arrest. This allows the police to arrest Olivas-Gutierrez to be arrested without formal filing of charges. Prosecutors will ultimately decide how to charge Olivas-Gutierrez, but he is likely facing a number of felony and misdemeanor charges. He will likely be charged with extreme indifference homicide, vehicular homicide (DUI), vehicular homicide (reckless), aggravated HTO (DUI), DUI, DUI per se and an interlock violation.
Authorities are reporting that Olivas-Gutierrez has three prior DUI’s and has never held a Colorado driver’s license. Immigration authorities will also likely place a hold on him because he is undocumented. If he has no license, it begs the question: how could he be driving at all?
Every person, whether they have a Colorado driver’s license or not, has a privilege to drive in Colorado. The privilege to drive is different than having an actual license. When DMV initiates a revocation, cancellation or denial, this action is against the driving privilege, not the driver’s license. That said, if the privilege to drive is revoked, cancelled or denied, the license is no longer valid either.