AURORA, Colo. — An Arvada man accused of sideswiping a motorcyclist on Interstate 225 last October, killing the rider, has been arrested and charged with vehicular homicide, the Aurora Police Department (APD) announced on Thursday morning.
Brian Vondersmith, 37, of Arvada, was arrested on Tuesday and booked into the Arapahoe County Jail on a charge of vehicular homicide, reckless manslaughter, first-degree assault and leaving the scene of an accident involving death. All of the charges are felonies.
The crash happened in the final minutes of Oct. 20, 2024. Patrol officers with the APD responded to a report of a hit-and-run crash involving a Dodge pickup truck and motorcycle at 11:59 p.m. that evening. It had happened in the northbound lanes of Interstate 225 near 6th Avenue in northwest Aurora.
When first responders arrived, they found that the motorcyclist had already died at the scene. He was later identified as Matthew Bouchard of Aurora. The pickup driver had fled the scene, police said.
Witnesses told investigators that the motorcyclist and pickup driver appeared to have been racing when the Dodge sideswiped the motorcyclist, who crashed into the guardrail, APD said.
Shortly after the investigation began, police found the suspect's pickup in a parking lot near the intersection of E. 38th Avenue and Sable Boulevard. It had been abandoned.
Vondersmith was identified as the person who had been driving the truck at the time of the crash, and he was arrested on Tuesday, nearly 140 days after the fatal crash, when he appeared at the Adams County Courthouse in Brighton to appear for an unrelated theft case, police said.
This investigation is ongoing and no other details were immediately available. Anybody with information is asked to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867). Tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $2,000.
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