Drunk driver sentenced to 24 years in prison for vehicular homicide

An Adams County woman was sentenced to 24 years in prison for a drunken driving crash that killed two people and sent two others to the hospital, court officials announced Tuesday.

Dusti Arensdorf, 43, pleaded guilty to two vehicular homicide charges and three vehicular assault charges in April, according to a news release from the 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office.

The plea eliminated several counts of reckless driving and driving under the influence from his case, according to court records.

On May 31, Broomfield District Court Judge Priscilla Loew sentenced Arensdorf to 24 years in the Department of Corrections, followed by three years of parole.

The crash occurred on northbound Interstate 25, between 144th Avenue and Colorado 7, around 10:15 p.m. on October 6, 2023.

On October 6, 2023, Shuangyue Chen, 71, and her son were changing the flat tire on their car while parked along Interstate 25 in Broomfield, the press release states.

Arensdorf was weaving through traffic at more than 100 mph moments before hitting the family's car and those outside, the prosecutor's office said.

The crash killed Chen instantly and ejected his daughter-in-law – Yajing Liu, 35 – from the parked vehicle, the statement said. Liu was pronounced dead at the scene.

Liu's husband, who is also Chen's son, and Liu's three-year-old son, who was inside the car, were both seriously injured but survived, the office said. prosecutor.