A drunken driver who hit and killed a 22-year-old pedestrian, who was in a crosswalk, has been convicted by a jury of second-degree murder.
Christopher Tarr, 42, is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 25 for the death of Dalton McCreary, 22, who pushed a friend out of harm’s way before he was killed, according to the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office.
Drunk driver who killed man in Aurora crosswalk guilty of 2nd-degree murder @AuroraPD @MADDOnline https://t.co/yqqMXEXdGG pic.twitter.com/FdcaMS9aic
— DA Office of 18th (@DA18th) December 12, 2017
On Aug. 21, 2016, Tarr was driving drunk when he ran a red light at the intersection of South Chambers Road and East Iliff Avenue in Aurora, according to a news release. McCreary was crossing the street with the light in the crosswalk with 18-year-old Jordan Mulumulu.
Tarr was attempting to turn north onto Chambers and his Toyota 4-Runner slid out of control. McCreary saw Tarr’s SUV coming at them and he pushed Mulumulu to safety, according to Aurora police. Mulumulu suffered minor injuries in the incident.
The SUV rolled and landed upright in a parking lot coming to a stop. Tarr attempted to drive away, but the SUV mechanically failed before making it out of the parking lot, according to prosecutors.
“I commend the jury for seeing that this case was more than another tragic drunk driving fatality.
This was a murder occasioned by the conduct of a repeat drunk driver,” said District Attorney
George Brauchler. “There is never an excuse for a drunk driving death, but in this case, the defendant had been explicitly made aware of the consequences of drunk driving. He just didn’t care.”
On Tuesday an Arapahoe District Court jury found Tarr guilty of murder for McCreary’s death and attempted murder in regard to Mulumulu. Tarr was also found guilty of DUI, reckless driving, careless driving and two counts of vehicular homicide.
Tarr could be sentenced from 16 to 48 years in prison on the murder conviction.
“The defendant, Christopher Tarr, ended the life of Dalton McCreary in a murderous act of
unspeakable disregard for the lives and safety of everyone on the road with him that night,”
said Deputy District Attorney Rory Devlin, a co-prosecutor in the case.