Broomfield woman sentenced after drunk driving crash kills 2 | News

A 17th Judicial District judge sentenced a woman to 24 years in prison after she killed a father and stepdaughter in a drunken driving accident.

Judge Priscilla Loew sentenced Dusti Arsensdorf, 43, after he pleaded guilty in April to two counts of vehicular homicide, drunken driving and assault.

These calls follow the double fatal accident on October 6, 2023, which killed Shuangyue Chen, 71, and her daughter-in-law, Yajing Liu, 35.

Liu's husband and three-year-old son – Chen's son and grandson – were also seriously injured in the crash, according to a news release from the 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office.

The crash occurred on northbound I-25 between 144th Avenue and Highway 7 around 10 p.m. when Chen stopped to change a flat tire along the shoulder of the highway.

Arensdorf was driving “erratically” and weaving into traffic on the highway at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour, according to witnesses. She then struck Chen and Chen's vehicle, which was still standing outside.

Liu was also ejected from the vehicle as it drove into the field next to the highway, according to the prosecutor's office. He was pronounced dead at the scene after first responders arrived.

Witnesses removed Arensdorf from his vehicle and noticed alcohol on his breath. She admitted to drinking “a few strong sodas that evening” and had a blood alcohol level of 0.343 at the hospital, more than four times the legal limit, according to the release.

Arensdorf had three drunk driving convictions prior to this case. She will now serve 24 years in the Department of Corrections, followed by three years of parole.

“The defendant’s choices to drive while intoxicated completely destroyed an innocent family,” prosecutor Brian Mason said in the press release. “This was an unspeakable, horrific crime – and it was a horrific crime scene, one that no one should have to see. A mother and grandfather were taken from a small child as a result of this defendant's egregious actions.