BRIGHTON, Colo. – A man twice convicted of drunk driving was sentenced Thursday in a third DUI after causing a crash in 2020 in which two people were killed — an on-duty Commerce City police detective and another woman.
Fructuoso Rosales-Cano, 49, was sentenced by an Adams County District Court judge to two 10-year prison sentences which will run consecutively for a total of 20 years, according to the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Rosales-Cano was convicted in November 2024 on two counts of vehicular homicide - DUI and two counts of driving under the influence with more than two priors on his record, Denver7 previously reported.
On October 16, 2020, Rosales-Cano was speeding and passing cars while driving his Ford F-350 westbound on Highway 2 in Commerce City when he attempted to avoid side-swiping a barrier wall on the right side of the highway before overcorrecting, swerved into oncoming traffic before slamming into the driver's side door of Commerce City Detective Curt Holland’s unit.
Commerce City
Commerce City officer killed in head-on collision on Highway 2
Rosales-Cano’s truck then crushed Francesca Dominguez’s Kia Soul.
Both Holland and Dominquez were killed instantly from “devastating injuries” according to the medical examiner’s office, said the DA’s office.
Holland was 37 years old and Dominquez was 31 years old.
“The damage caused by this defendant is truly unfathomable. Because of one man’s indefensible decision to drink and drive, two innocent victims are dead and countless lives are shattered,” said District Attorney Brian Mason in a news release following the conviction. “Francesca Dominguez did not deserve to be taken from her loved ones. Detective Curt Holland should still be alive today serving the community he loved with his wife and two children by his side.”
Investigators discovered empty beer cans, liquor bottles inside Rosales-Cano’s truck and his blood alcohol level was .294 which is more than three times the legal limit in Colorado, said the DA's office.
His previous DUI convictions were in 1997 and 2006.
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Rosales-Cano suffered life-threatening injuries in the deadly 2020 crash but ultimately recovered.
“Although the jury’s decision cannot bring them back, I am nevertheless grateful to law enforcement, my team at the District Attorney’s Office, and the families of the victims for seeing this case through and securing this just verdict,” added DA Mason. “We honor Francesca Dominguez, Detective Curt Holland and all victims of these preventable crimes as we work every day to prevent future crashes and support victims and survivors across Colorado.”
Curt's wife, Amanda Holland, told Denver7 in December 2024 she hoped her family's tragedy would be a lesson for others.
"This was a person who was on his third DUI. He was three-and-a-half times the legal limit. You put everyone at risk when you're on the road and you've been drinking" said Holland. "The hardest thing I've ever done was to tell my daughter that her best friend was not coming home.”
Through the years, the Commerce City Police Department and community have rallied around Holland's family, including setting up a yearly memorial golf tournament in his honor.
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