Motorist, 25, charged with homicide, DUI

A 25-year-old man suspected of driving the wrong way into a head-on collision that killed a teen on Interstate 25 near Erie was charged with vehicular homicide and driving drunk on Wednesday, according to the Weld County district attorney’s office.

Alex Pablo Rodriguez on Nov. 24 was behind the wheel of a gray Jeep heading south in the northbound lanes on Thanksgiving when he ran into a vehicle occupied by Nash Rider, 16, and Kyle Nackos, 19. Nackos was killed, and Rider was hospitalized with serious injuries.

According to an arrest affidavit, at about 2:54 a.m., multiple people called dispatch to report a Jeep driving the wrong way near mile marker 240.

“A Weld County deputy was attempting to get the driver’s attention with emergency lights,” according to the affidavit. A few minutes later the Jeep ran into Rider’s vehicle.

A Dacono police officer arrived to find Rodriguez standing beside the passenger door.

A state trooper who responded said Rodriguez “had a strong odor of alcohol.”

Rodriguez was taken to the hospital for minor injuries and was booked in the Weld County jail, where he remains on $100,000 bail.