Charges After High-Speed Crash Kills Arvada Couple

A fatal crash case in Jefferson County has now moved into the criminal courts. Prosecutors charged Damien Lee Sronce on May 8 with two counts of vehicular homicide after investigators said he was driving nearly 90 mph before smashing into a car carrying Carl and Rosemary Marcil, an Arvada couple coming home from a Valentine’s Day celebration. Both were 78. Both died from the February 14 collision at West Colfax Avenue and Youngfield Street. ### Who was charged? The defendant is Damien Lee Sronce. The First Judicial District Attorney’s Office filed five counts: two felony vehicular homicide counts tied to reckless driving, plus speeding, reckless driving, and compulsory insurance charges. Prosecutors said Sronce was arrested on April 28, then made his first court appearance on May 8. He later posted a $100,000 cash or surety bond. (firstda.co) ### What happened that night? Investigators say the crash happened around 8 p.m. on February 14, 2026, at West Colfax and Youngfield. The Marcils were in a Ford Escort and were trying to turn left onto Youngfield from the eastbound side of Colfax. Sronce was driving a Mitsubishi Lancer westbound on U.S. 40 — the same road — when the Mitsubishi struck the passenger side of the Ford. Sronce and his passenger were not injured and stayed at the scene. (firstda.co) ### Why are the speed numbers such a big deal? Because the whole charging theory turns on them. State patrol investigators said the Mitsubishi was traveling about 89 mph in a 45 mph zone just before the crash. They also said Sronce braked roughly 1.4 seconds before impact, but the car still hit the Ford at about 58 mph. That matters because prosecutors are treating the crash not as a simple mistake, but as a death caused by reckless driving. (firstda.co) ### Did investigators find DUI or phone use? Turns out, no public report in the charging coverage points to either. The arrest affidavit details summarized by local outlets say investigators found no sign of drug or alcohol impairment, and cell phone data did not show the phone was being used around the time of the crash. Sronce reportedly told police he had “zoned out” and did not see the Marcils’ car turning until it was too late. (firstda.co) ### What happened to the Marcils? Rosemary Marcil was ejected from the Ford and died at the scene. Carl Marcil was taken toward a hospital but died on the way. Local reporting says the couple had been married nearly 50 years and were returning home from a Valentine’s Day outing when they were hit. (9news.com) ### Did the couple cause the crash by turning? That is not how investigators framed it. One key detail in the reporting is that officials said the Marcils did not fail to yield the right of way, and that a reasonable driver would have believed there was enough time to make the left turn. Basically, the allegation is that the Mitsubishi closed that gap so fast that an ordinary judgment call became fatal. (9news.com) ### What happens next? The next court date is a preliminary hearing set for June 4, 2026, at 8 a.m. That hearing is where the case starts to shift from the basic allegation — he was speeding, two people died — into the evidence fight over recklessness, causation, and exactly how prosecutors plan to prove the charges. (kdvr.com) ### Bottom line The new thing here is not the crash itself. It is that prosecutors have now decided the evidence supports felony homicide charges. And the core fact driving that decision is brutally simple — investigators say a man was doing 89 in a 45 when he hit a couple heading home from dinner. (firstda.co)