A Douglas County judge has denied bond to a 23-year-old driver accused of killing two people in a high-speed crash on Interstate 25 in Lone Tree, ruling that prosecutors presented enough evidence to support first-degree murder charges rather than a standard vehicular homicide case. Citlaly Guzman-Aguilar was driving under the influence of alcohol and THC above Colorado's legal limits when her Jeep struck a pedestrian and a Ford driver, killing them both, according to evidence presented in court.
The ruling marks a significant escalation from the initial DUI investigation into the March 22 crash, which shut down northbound I-25 near Lincoln Avenue for hours and which Hoodline first covered in its report on the predawn highway shutdown. According to the Denver Gazette, Judge Beth Elliott-Dumler found the evidence sufficient to support two counts of first-degree murder, disagreeing with defense attorneys who argued the facts did not establish probable cause for a willingness to take life indiscriminately. Elliott-Dumler cited evidence that Guzman-Aguilar was intoxicated and traveling about 111 mph in a marked construction zone, and she said Guzman-Aguilar was traveling too fast to avoid the collision.
How the Crash Unfolded on I-25
Mike Greeder testified that a Subaru struck a barrier near the Lincoln Avenue exit on northbound I-25 shortly before 1:46 a.m., according to the Gazette's report on the hearing. The Subaru's driver exited the vehicle and stood on the roadway, while a Ford driver slowed to about 18 mph while navigating around the disabled vehicle. A pedestrian at the scene was wearing dark clothing, per the same account.
Guzman-Aguilar's Jeep was traveling at about 111 mph five seconds before impact, the Gazette reported, and it began braking roughly two seconds before the collision, slowing to about 88 mph at impact. The vehicle did not swerve and remained on a straight path before striking the pedestrian and the Ford, contradicting Guzman-Aguilar's own account. In an arrest affidavit reported by 9News, Lone Tree Police said Guzman-Aguilar told them she was driving home from Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, estimated her speed at 70 mph, and claimed she swerved before hitting something.
Seltzer Cans and Failed Sobriety Tests
The same affidavit, according to 9News, states that officers found multiple open and unopened hard seltzer cans scattered inside Guzman-Aguilar's wrecked Jeep. Police documents cited by the outlet indicate she initially denied drinking alcohol at the scene before admitting to consuming two seltzers, after which she failed roadside field sobriety tests. Subsequent blood tests indicated her alcohol and THC levels exceeded Colorado's legal limits, according to the report.
Under Colorado law, a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% establishes driving under the influence per se, while a BAC between 0.05% and 0.079% supports a lesser charge of Driving While Ability Impaired, according to No DUI Colorado. Separately, the Colorado Department of Transportation's guidelines note that a blood test showing 5 nanograms or more of active delta-9 THC per milliliter establishes a permissible statutory inference of cannabis impairment, though that threshold functions as a legal inference rather than a strict per se limit.
A High Legal Bar for Murder Charges
Colorado law defines first-degree murder as knowingly engaging in conduct demonstrating universal malice and extreme indifference to human life that creates a grave risk of death and causes another person's death. Elliott-Dumler used the term universal malice in explaining that standard during the hearing. Under Colorado Revised Statutes § 18-3-102(1)(d), first-degree murder by extreme indifference is a Class 1 felony carrying a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole, according to FindLaw.
Defense attorneys argued that the evidence did not support probable cause for a willingness to take life indiscriminately, pointing to the fact that the Jeep began braking about two seconds before impact. In the 2019 case People v. Anderson, the Colorado Supreme Court affirmed that extreme indifference murder under the statute requires proof of conduct demonstrating universal malice that endangers human life generally, rather than intent directed at a specific individual. Elliott-Dumler ultimately disagreed with the defense's argument and ordered Guzman-Aguilar held without bond, with her arraignment scheduled for September 4.
A Deadly Stretch of I-25 Under Construction
The crash occurred in a construction zone at night, where the posted speed limit was 55 mph. The Colorado Department of Transportation began construction along northbound I-25 in Lone Tree in September 2025 to build a pedestrian bridge and mobility hub, work that has required overnight lane closures and reduced speed limits, according to the agency's own project announcement.
The case also lands amid a documented rise in fatal crashes across the corridor. Traffic fatalities in Douglas County rose to eight deaths in early 2025, compared to one during the same period in 2024, even as statewide traffic deaths fell 21%, according to Colorado Department of Transportation data reported by Aaron Israels. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office has detailed joint traffic enforcement operations with the Colorado State Patrol targeting high-speed driving and DUI violations along I-25 in the county, underscoring how extreme speeding through Lone Tree and Castle Rock has remained a persistent enforcement priority for local law enforcement.
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