Accused DUI driver who crashed into Colorado record store killed pedestrian while drunk driving in 2007
The man arrested and charged with crashing into a record store while allegedly drunk on Saturday morning struck and killed a pedestrian after a Colorado Rockies game in 2007, police confirmed Sunday.
Christopher Sprout, 47, fled the scene of Chain Reaction Records in Lakewood after crashing into the front of the store around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, according to the Lakewood Police Department. Investigators followed tire tracks left in the snow leading from the destroyed storefront to a home near West Estes Street and West 20th Avenue, where public records show Sprout lives.
Sprout is currently in the Jefferson County Jail facing charges of driving under the influence, careless driving, failure to provide insurance, hit and run and failure to notify police or remain on the scene of an accident. He sustained minor injuries, according to police, but no one else was injured.
This wasn't Sprout's first accusation of driving under the influence. In 2007, he pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide after hitting and killing 24-year-old Kevin Watt. The Denver District Attorney's Office said Sprout was drunk at the time. He served 90 days in jail despite the presumptive sentencing range for a class four felony being two to six years at the time.
Attorney information for Sprout wasn't immediately available and it wasn't clear if he was eligible for or posted bail, but a phone number listed through public records went straight to voicemail when CBS News Colorado called for comment.
Josh Lent, the owner of Chain Reaction Records, said Saturday that he didn't know when they'd be able to reopen or if they would need to relocate.