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Driver Admits Being Drunk When He Hit & Killed A Tow Truck Driver

GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4)- A man faces up to 48 years in prison after he admitted he was driving drunk when he struck and killed a tow truck driver.

Zachariah Dobler pleaded guilty Wednesday in Jefferson County Court to charges of vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident involving death.

Dobler, 28, struck and killed Alan Dilley and then drove away on July 31, 2011.

Alan Dilley
Alan Dilley (credit: Facebook)

Dilley, 41, was working as an employee of Connolly's Towing at an active accident scene and preparing to tow a vehicle. That vehicle had been involved in a DUI collision at W. 58th Avenue and Wadsworth in Arvada, when Dilley was struck by the SUV driven by Dobler.

The intersection was lit with activated flashing lights on emergency vehicles. Cones were set out to reroute traffic through the intersection and firefighters were directing traffic around the cones.

Dobler drove through the cone pattern and struck Dilley, throwing him 120 feet. Dobler did not stop. He was arrested by Arvada police a few blocks away.

Dilley died a short time later from his injuries.

Dobler will be sentenced April 11 in Jefferson County Court.

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