Man Pleads Guilty In Crash That Killed Deputy
GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4/AP) — A man who caused a traffic collision that killed a sheriff's deputy has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide.
Kenneth Martin Hosch, 83, took a plea deal during a Monday court hearing. He was charged with vehicular homicide and criminally negligent homicide. By taking the deal he agreed to plead guilty to the higher charge of vehicular homicide and the second count was dropped.
Investigators say Hosch was driving an SUV that collided head-on with a Jefferson County sheriff's motorcycle driven by Sgt. Dave Baldwin on Jan. 26 on Highway 93. Baldwin was on duty.
Prosecutors say Hosch had passed another vehicle but remained in the opposite lane for about 1,500 feet and then crashed into Baldwin's motorcycle.
Baldwin's family was in court Monday. His wife, Crystal Baldwin, said they needed to hear Hosch admit he was guilty.
"It's exactly what we were hoping for. We did not want to go through a trial, and most importantly we just wanted him to take responsibility for what he did," she said.
District Attorney Pete Weir says the loss has affected a community.
"We told him he needed to come in and take full responsibility, accept what he has done and plead guilty, and that is what he did today," Weir said.
Hosch's sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 29.
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