Former CU Student Sentenced To Prison For Crash That Killed Female Passenger
UPDATE: Keyan Pesaran was released on parole in November 2018, according to the Colorado Department of Corrections.
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4) - A 23-year-old man was sentenced Friday to four years in prison following a woman's death during a 2015 ski trip.
Steamboat Today reports Keyan Pesaran had been charged with two counts of felony vehicular homicide and two counts of felony vehicular assault. Prosecutors offered a plea deal to avoid trial, and Pesaran agreed. He pleaded guilty to one count of each charge.
The Dec. 6, 2015, crash west of Steamboat Springs killed 21-year-old Nicole Weber, a passenger in Pesaran's Jeep. An arrest affidavit indicates Pesaran had slept three or four hours the night prior to the accident and may have fallen asleep while driving. The vehicle ran off the road and rolled twice, ejecting Weber. She was not wearing a seat belt.
According to drug tests after the accident, Pesaran had cocaine and anti-anxiety medications in his system, as well as cannabis in the amount of 8.3 nanograms per milliliter of blood.
"That is well above the statutory five-nanogram limit," remarked District Court Judge Shelley Hill during Friday's hearing.
Pesaran, a University of Colorado-Boulder student at the time of the crash, cried throughout the hearing, according to Steamboat Today.
His defense attorney asked the judge for leniency. Weber's family, as well, did not want Perasan serving time in prison. But family members were not without anger.
"Understand that you took away from us forever," said Scott Weber, her father, speaking directly to Perasan.
Julie Weber spoke about her daughter: "I'm a better person for being her mom, and you know I only had her for 22 years … and I'm just going to have to be grateful for those 22 years, and I am."
Prior to be sentenced, Pesaran addressed the court.
"I do not deserve their forgiveness, and I cannot forgive myself. It feels I am lost with no path to follow."
