Does Colorado have a felony DUI statute?

Colorado has three statutes that make driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs a felony crime. These three felony DUI offenses are:

1. CRS 42-4-1301 – Fourth-time DUI
2. CRS 18-3-205 – DUI causing serious injury
3. CRS 18-3-106 – DUI causing death

First-, second-, and third DUI convictions are prosecuted as misdemeanors as long as there are no injuries.

1. CRS 42-4-1301 – DUI-fourth

A fourth or subsequent DUI is a felony in Colorado, even if no one gets injured.

It does not matter if the three prior convictions occurred a long time ago or if they happened outside of Colorado. Nor does it matter if the prior cases were DWAI convictions or DUI per se convictions.

A fourth DUI is classified as a class 4 felony. The penalty for this felony DUI conviction includes:

• Fines of $2,000 to $500,000; and/or
• A Colorado State Prison sentence of 2 to 6 years

Though if the judge grants you probation, the sentence would include:

• 90 to 180 days of jail time or 120 days to 2 years in jail through an alternative-sentencing program;
• 48 to 120 hours of community service (“public service”); and
• Level II alcohol and drug education class or treatment program (“DUI School“)

2. CRS 18-3-205 – DUI causing serious injury

DUI with serious injury (“DUI vehicular assault”) is when an alcohol-related car crash causes:

• Broken bones;
• Permanent disfigurement;
• Second- or third-degree burns; or
• Prolonged loss of normal bodily- or organ function

Drunk driving causing serious injury is always treated as a class 4 felony DUI charge. It does not matter if it is your first offense. The penalty is:

• Fines of $2,000 to $500,000; and/or
• A prison sentence of 2 to 6 years

It may be possible for a defense lawyer to get CRS 18-3-205 charges reduced to a traffic misdemeanor DUI by showing that the victim’s injuries do not meet the legal definition of “serious.”²

Causing a drunk driving accident resulting in a death or serious injury is a felony in Colorado

3. CRS 18-3-106 – DUI causing death

DUI causing death (“DUI vehicular homicide”) occurs when a drunk driver (or a drugged driver) causes an fatal car crash. It makes no difference if you never had prior DUI arrests.

DUI with death is a class 3 felony offense. The punishment is:

• Fines of $3,000 to $750,000; and/or
• A prison sentence of 4 to 12 years.

A potential DUI defense to CRS 18-3-106 charges is that your driving did not cause the crash, and that an intervening factor was at fault. Examples are that the victims’ motor vehicle was defective, or there was an “act of nature” like a falling tree branch that triggered the accident.³