Man Crashed Car With Faulty Brakes, Girl Not Wearing Seat Belt
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4) -- A Colorado Springs man has been charged with a pair of felonies for driving a car knowing its brakes were not functioning properly and leaving a six-year-old passenger unrestrained.
Daniel Muniz, 29, was arrested Wednesday by the Colorado Springs Police Department and charged with Child Abuse and Vehicular Assault.
His female child passenger is still recovering in an area hospital.
She was taken to a hospital following the accident in critical condition, according to CBS affiliate KKTV.
CSPD said Muniz's red sedan was travelling eastbound on Galley Road when it ran a red light at Wooten Road. The car struck a construction trailer being pulled by a vehicle turning that was turning left onto westbound Galley.
The wreck closed the intersection for several hours.
"Additional investigation determined the driver of the first vehicle was knowingly operating a vehicle with a faulty braking system," CSPD wrote in a news release Thursday, "and had the child passenger sitting unrestrained in the front seat area."
Muniz is due to appear in court for advisement of the charges on May 17th.
Online court records show Muniz was on probation for Driving Under Restraint at the time of the accident. He had also been cited by CSPD March 22nd for driving an unsafe or defective vehicle.