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Steven Felt was wearing a seat belt, but the State Patrol said it did not know whether Birt and the younger Felt were wearing seat belts. Steven Felt was ticketed for careless driving causing serious bodily injury, careless driving causing death and no proof of insurance.
Rescuers had to cut the roof off the sedan to get the occupants out, and Ayers said all three were taken to Aspen Valley Hospital for treatment of serious injuries. Michael Felt later was airlifted to Children's Hospital in Denver, according to the State Patrol, although officials at that hospital said Wednesday evening they had no patient by that name.
Man pleads guilty in Highway 82 wreck
ASPEN — Steven Felt, 52, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of careless driving after a wreck killed one person and seriously injured another in December 2005.
Elizabeth Birt, 49, a nationally known advocate for autistic children and Felt's fiancee, died in the crash Dec. 28, 2005. The crash also seriously injured Felt's son, Michael, 14.
The Colorado State Patrol established that Felt ran a red light at Brush Creek Road and Highway 82, turning into the path of an oncoming truck. At the time, State Patrol said that neither alcohol nor speeding played a role.
Felt was sentenced to 60 days of suspended jail time, two years of probation and a $300 fine. The terms of the probation include no traffic violations or broken laws, eight hours of traffic school, six victim crime panels and 120 hours of public service.
Felt's lawyer, Fred Winocur, said Felt will perform his service at the Extreme Sports Camp in Aspen, a nonprofit that takes kids with autism on various adventures in the area.
The plea bargain with Assistant District Attorney Gail Nichols originally mandated that jail time could not be part of the agreement. In a hearing that at times became heated, representatives of the various victims in the case spoke passionately over the telephone.
Judge Erin Fernandez-Ely ruled that she would not accept the plea agreement unless jail time was a possibility, following hearing from the families of victims.
Felt, who lives in Wilmette, Ill., did not speak during the hearing and did not apologize. Much of the testimony over the phone focused on a likely wrongful death civil suit against Felt, according to statements at the hearing.
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