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Driver who struck cyclist on Colorado Highway 9 in September faces misdemeanor charge

The driver who allegedly struck a cyclist on Colorado Highway 9 in September, leading to his death, has been charged.

Jesus Manuel Gutierrez Sanchez, 25, of Dillon, faces charges of careless driving resulting in death, a Class 1 traffic offense; false reporting, a Class 2 misdemeanor; and driving without a license, a Class A traffic infraction.

Police said Sanchez hit a 65-year-old cyclist when his pickup truck drifted onto the shoulder of Colorado Highway 9 on Sept. 20. The crash happened around 5 p.m. near mile marker 107, a few miles north of Silverthorne, Colorado State Patrol Master Trooper Gary Cutler said the day after the crash.



Responders performed CPR but the cyclist died at the scene, according to Cutler. Cutler said that the cyclist was from Excelsior, Minnesota. He was attempting the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, according to a member of the family.

Cutler said at the time that investigators were not looking at drugs, alcohol or excessive speeds, and that Sanchez remained at the scene. The cyclist was wearing a helmet.



A spokesperson for the 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Office did not elaborate further in response to an emailed question about what led to the false reporting charge.

The District Attorney’s Office denied Summit Daily’s public records request for the Colorado State Patrol report on the crash, citing the possibility that information in the report could taint potential jurors and jeopardize the defendant’s right to a fair trial.  State Patrol has not yet responded to a records request filed by the Summit Daily on Tuesday morning, Dec. 13.

Sanchez is scheduled for a dispositional hearing at 11 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 19, at the Summit County Justice Center in Breckenridge.


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