JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — A man pleaded guilty to DUI vehicular homicide this week in connection with a car crash in June that killed one woman and injured another in Lakewood.
Ilya Slavin, 37, of Centennial, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to vehicular homicide - DUI, vehicular assault - reckless, and cruelty to animals. The remaining counts against him were dismissed as part of the plea deal, the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office said.
The charges stem from the morning of June 5, 2024. Just before 6 a.m. that morning, officers with the Lakewood Police Department responded to a crash on W. Colfax Avenue and Garrison Street after a pickup truck driver crashed into a woman's car, and then crashed in a nearby Safeway parking lot.
Police determined the truck driver, later identified as Slavin, crashed into an Audi as he was driving eastbound on W. Colfax Avenue. His truck had rolled into a shopping center, where it hit another car. The driver of the Audi, Beth Bargas, 65, of Lakewood, died at the scene, police said. Her passenger was brought to the hospital for multiple injuries.
Watch our coverage from that morning below.
That morning, Slavin was transported to the Jefferson County Jail on multiple charges, including suspicion of committing DUI vehicular homicide and DUI vehicular assault, among others. A few days later, he was formally charged with a slew of counts:
- Vehicular homicide - DUI
- Vehicular homicide – reckless driving
- Vehicular assault – DUI
- Vehicular assault – reckless
- Cruelty to animals
- Driving under the influence
- Failure to have proof of insurance
- Reckless driving
- Speeding 40 mph or more over the limit
- Failure to stop at red light
- Lane usage violation
When he took a plea deal on Tuesday, several of those counts were dismissed.
Slavin's sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2025 at 3 p.m. He faces four to 16 years in prison.
Slavin is currently out on bond, according to the district attorney’s office.
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