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Neighbors In Distracted Driving Case Say Charges Not Tough Enough

THORNTON, Colo. (CBS4) - Charges are now filed against a driver who hit and killed two pedestrians. Investigators say Michael Grennan was using his cellphone at the time of the accident.

Grennan faces charges of careless driving resulting in death. The accident happened along east 168th Avenue in Thornton on March 31. Witnesses say Grennan veered off the road and crashed into Stephen Dabney and brothers Seth and Jarren Lewis. Jarren was hurt but survived.

Neighbors are upset it's just misdemeanor charges that Grennan is facing. They say the punishment -- Grennan would face a maximum sentence of three years -- doesn't fit the crime.

"For two lives lost and one child injured, I think (the punishment) is not enough," said Pete Geelan, a neighbor of one of the victims. "You changed people's life in an instant for distracted driving and then the fallout is for years and years."

The DA's office so far hasn't said whether Grennan was texting at the time of the crash.

"I want to cry. I want to cry that the system has let us down," Victor Janvrin, another neighbor, said.

Grennan is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 27. His wife told CBS4 after the incident that her husband was not on his cellphone at the time.

The victims' families have set up memorial funds for their loved ones. Dabney was a father of six. To donate, go to any Wells Fargo bank and ask for the Dabney and Lewis Family Memorial Funds.

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