WESTMINSTER, Colo. -- The suspected DUI driver who's accused of causing the Jan. 14 crash that killed a Westminster woman will have to stay in jail for a while.
An Adams County judge refused to lower Viet Nguyen's $250,000 bond Friday, citing the extraordinarily serious nature of the crime.
21-year-old Jenna Breen died when Nguyen's Porsche slammed into her car at 118th Avenue and Sheridan Blvd. in Westminster. Police said Nguyen ran a red light.
Breen's mother, Gail Parrish, spoke against a bond reduction during the court hearing.
"He's a flight risk," said Parrish afterwards. "He left my daughter dying and ran and he has a record of running so I think the judge made the right decision."
Surveillance video shows two people running from the scene of the crash on that morning. 25-year-old Nguyen is charged with leaving the scene of the accident, along with vehicular homicide and driving under the influence of alcohol.
A Colorado House bill, just introduced, would stiffen the penalty for leaving the scene of a traffic accident that causes serious bodily injury. House Bill 1084 would change the crime from a Class 5 to a Class 4 felony.
Cynthia Albo, whose son Timothy was injured by a hit and run driver last fall, said current law gives some drivers an incentive to run after an accident.
"So if they're drinking or have drugs in their system then it's better for them to run than it is to stay because the sentence will be less than if they stayed," Albo said.
Rep. Rhonda Fields, one of the bill sponsors, said families of crash victims have been pushing for stronger penalties for drivers who decide not to stick around.
"They are feeling like it is a miscarriage of justice when they see that a person has been brain-damaged or they've been severely injured, where their whole life has been altered, and they don't think that justice was prevailed when somebody gets community correction and only three months," Fields said.
A hearing on the bill is scheduled for next Thursday.
A preliminary hearing for Nguyen has been rescheduled for late March.
