'Egregious Behavior' Behind Wheel Nets Isaac Aranda Two Dozen Years Behind Bars
BRIGHTON, Colo. (CBS4) - Isaac Aranda was sentenced to prison Monday for his blocks-long driving debacle last year which ended in the death of a 68-year-old woman who was walking on a Northglenn sidewalk.
An Adams County District Court judge ordered Aranda, 28, to spend 24 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections.
Multiple calls came into 911 on January 30, 2021, to report a black SUV being driven erratically throughout the city, according to a press release from the 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office. Several drivers told police that the black SUV crossed the center lane into oncoming traffic, forcing them to evasive action to avoid hitting him.
At 104th Avenue and Washington Street, Aranda's black SUV collided with another car. According to prosecutors, Aranda put his vehicle into reverse, hit the other car again, and then continued driving southbound on Washington.
A short time later, Aranda's SUV struck and killed Debra Blanchard. Blanchard was walking on the sidewalk adjacent to the northbound lanes of traffic.
Aranda drove away from that scene as well, according to the DA's Office. He hit a fence before responding Northglenn officers pinned his vehicle between theirs and took him into custody.
Northglenn PD closed an eight-block stretch of Washington Street that day while its investigators gathered evidence.
"This tragedy was entirely avoidable," District Attorney Brian Mason stated after Aranda's sentencing. "The defendant's egregious behavior caused the death of a 68-year-old woman who was simply walking on a Northglenn sidewalk in the middle of the day."
Aranda initially pleaded not guilty to 1st Degree Murder and Leaving the Scene of an Accident Involving Death charges. A jury trial was tentatively scheduled. But in February, he reached an agreement with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to 2nd Degree Murder. Aranda was sentenced on the day his trial had been scheduled to begin.
