Vehicular assault involving DUI is a class 4 felony in Colorado carrying a presumptive sentence of 2 to 6 years in the Department of Corrections, a mandatory 3-year parole period, and fines from $2,000 to $500,000. The detail that defines these cases is in the statute itself: C.R.S. 18-3-205(1)(b)(I) says this version of vehicular assault is a strict liability crime. Prosecutors do not have to prove you intended to hurt anyone, and they do not have to prove you drove recklessly. They only have to prove you were under the influence and that your driving was the proximate cause of someone’s serious bodily injury.

That single sentence removes most of the defenses drivers assume they have, which is why these cases are won on the two elements that remain contestable.

What Are the Two Versions of Vehicular Assault in Colorado?

C.R.S. 18-3-205 creates separate offenses depending on what the State alleges caused the injury.

  • Reckless driving causing serious bodily injury, under subsection (1)(a), is a class 5 felony: 1 to 3 years presumptive, 2 years mandatory parole, fines from $1,000 to $100,000
  • DUI or DUID causing serious bodily injury, under subsection (1)(b)(I), is a class 4 felony: 2 to 6 years presumptive, 3 years mandatory parole, fines from $2,000 to $500,000
  • DWAI causing serious bodily injury, under subsection (1)(b)(I.5), is a class 5 felony

There is no misdemeanor version of vehicular assault. If the injury meets the statutory threshold, this is a felony.

Sentences can exceed the presumptive range where aggravating circumstances apply, so the numbers above are a starting point rather than a ceiling. You can read the statutory text for the full provisions.

Note the strategic implication of the two tiers. Moving a case from the DUI subsection to the reckless driving subsection drops it from a class 4 to a class 5 felony, which is often the most valuable outcome available short of dismissal.

What Counts as Serious Bodily Injury?

This is the first genuinely contestable element, and it is narrower than most people assume.

Colorado defines serious bodily injury as an injury that involves, either at the time or later:

  • A substantial risk of death
  • A substantial risk of serious permanent disfigurement
  • A substantial risk of protracted loss or impairment of the function of any part or organ of the body
  • Breaks, fractures, or second or third degree burns

The fracture category is what catches drivers. A broken wrist qualifies even if it heals completely in eight weeks. There is no requirement that the injury be permanent.

But plenty of real injuries do not qualify:

  • Concussion without lasting impairment
  • Whiplash and soft tissue injuries
  • Lacerations requiring stitches, absent disfigurement risk
  • Bruising, however extensive

If the State cannot prove statutory serious bodily injury, vehicular assault does not stand, and the case becomes a DUI. That is a felony to misdemeanor difference, so the medical records deserve genuine scrutiny rather than a glance.

How Is Proximate Cause Challenged?

This is the second contestable element, and it is where strict liability cuts both ways.

Being impaired is not enough. The State must prove your driving was the proximate cause of the injury, meaning the injury was a natural and probable consequence of your conduct. Impairment alone does not establish causation.

Causation defenses that work in real cases:

  • The other driver caused the crash. Running a red light, an illegal left turn, or a wrong way entry can break the causal chain even if you were over the limit
  • A third vehicle or road condition intervened
  • The injuries came from something other than the collision, such as a pre-existing condition or an unrelated medical event
  • Accident reconstruction contradicts the police narrative, particularly on speed, point of impact, and right of way

Prosecutors sometimes treat impairment as if it answers causation automatically. It does not, and that gap is frequently the strongest part of a defense.

How Do You Challenge the Impairment Evidence?

The same suppression arguments available in any Colorado DUI apply here, and the stakes are much higher.

Blood draws are the usual evidence in serious injury cases, and they generate real issues:

  • Warrant requirements. A warrantless blood draw generally requires valid consent or exigent circumstances
  • Express consent compliance under C.R.S. 42-4-1301.1, including whether the advisement was properly given
  • Chain of custody and lab procedure, including whether the correct preservatives were used and how the sample was stored
  • Timing and retrograde extrapolation, since a draw taken two hours later does not establish the level at the time of driving
  • Medical treatment interference, where drugs administered at the scene or hospital appear in the toxicology

For marijuana and prescription drug cases, causation is even weaker. THC blood levels do not correlate reliably with impairment at the time of driving, and metabolites can persist for days.

If the blood evidence is suppressed, the class 4 felony generally cannot proceed, though the reckless driving theory may survive.

What Happens to Your Driver’s License?

Separately, and faster than the criminal case. This surprises nearly everyone.

The DMV runs its own express consent revocation proceeding that operates on its own timeline and its own lower standard of proof. You can win the criminal case and still lose your license, or the reverse.

Key points:

  • You typically have a short window to request a hearing after notice, and missing it forfeits the hearing entirely
  • The DMV proceeding is administrative, not criminal, and the rules of evidence are looser
  • A refusal to submit to testing carries its own extended revocation
  • Reinstatement usually requires an ignition interlock device and alcohol education

Because the DMV clock runs faster than the court clock, the license hearing is often the first real deadline in the case. Our guide to ignition interlock requirements in Colorado covers reinstatement.

Is Probation Possible on a Class 4 Felony?

Sometimes, and it depends heavily on the record and the facts.

Where probation is granted in a vehicular assault case, courts commonly impose:

  • Continuous alcohol monitoring
  • Substance abuse evaluation and treatment
  • Useful public service
  • Victim restitution, which in serious injury cases can be substantial

Restitution deserves early attention. Medical costs in a serious injury collision can reach six figures, and a restitution order survives the sentence.

Mitigation matters more here than in most felony cases, because the conduct element is largely fixed by strict liability. Treatment entered before sentencing, employment stability, and genuine acceptance of responsibility measurably affect outcomes. Our guide on mitigating circumstances in Colorado sentencing covers what courts actually credit.

Colorado Vehicular Assault FAQs

Is vehicular assault always a felony in Colorado?

Yes. Both the reckless and DUI versions are felonies. There is no misdemeanor vehicular assault under C.R.S. 18-3-205.

Can I be convicted if I was under the legal limit?

Yes. The DUI subsection turns on being under the influence, not on a specific number. A BAC under 0.08 can still support the charge, and drug impairment has no numeric threshold.

Does it matter that the injured person was at fault?

It can be decisive. The State must prove your driving proximately caused the injury, so comparative fault evidence goes directly to an element of the offense.

Will a vehicular assault conviction ever come off my record?

Colorado does not permit sealing for most felony convictions of this kind, so treat the disposition as permanent.

Talk to a Colorado Vehicular Assault Attorney

Two deadlines run at once after a serious injury DUI, and one of them is measured in days.

  1. Request your DMV hearing immediately, before the criminal case develops
  2. Obtain the complete medical records to test whether the injuries meet the statutory definition
  3. Preserve the scene evidence, including vehicle data, dash and surveillance footage, and witness contacts, before it is gone
  4. Get the blood draw documentation, including the warrant, advisement, and full lab file
  5. Consider an independent accident reconstruction if causation is genuinely disputed
  6. Begin treatment or evaluation now if substance use is a factor, since pre-sentencing efforts carry weight

Flatiron Legal Advisors defends serious driving offenses through our Colorado criminal defense and DUI defense teams. For related reading, see our guides on DUI causing injury under C.R.S. 18-3-205 and steps to take after a Denver DUI arrest.

Schedule a confidential consultation today, since the DMV deadline will not wait.

Reviewed by the Flatiron Legal Advisors criminal defense team. This article is general information, not legal advice for your specific case.