An 18-year-old driver arrested in a crash that killed his passenger Tuesday evening in Parker was likely going at least 95 mph, police said.
Read more Under Trump, census eyes sweeping plan to omit immigrants, race data
Chase Murphy is facing charges of vehicular homicide by reckless driving, reckless driving and speeding 40 mph over the posted limit, in the crash that killed 18-year-old Talon Gustafson, according to an arrest affidavit.
Murphy told police he was driving east on Mainstreet about 11 p.m. when another vehicle turned in front of him at the North Motsenbocker Road intersection, the affidavit states. Murphy hit the front of that vehicle, police said.
After the collision, Murphy’s vehicle continued through the intersection, hit a curb, spun and hit a tree in the median on its passenger side before coming to rest in the westbound lanes of Mainstreet, about 500 feet from the Motsenbocker Road intersection.
Police believe Gustafson was thrown from the vehicle after it hit the tree. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
No one was in the other vehicle when police arrived on scene, the affidavit states. It is not clear where that driver went, though police said no injuries were reported from that vehicle.
Read more US marks 25 years since the Sept. 11 attacks
Police estimated Murphy was driving between 95 and 106 mph, based on how far the car skidded before it came to a stop. The speed limit on Mainstreet in that area is 40 mph.
Parker Police Department spokesperson Josh Hans said the agency doesn’t hear many concerns about speeding in the area.
The police department’s traffic enforcement map on Thursday showed more than a dozen traffic stops in that area between 2025 and 2026, though specific details about each of the stops were not available.
Parker officers made more than 8,800 traffic stops in 2025 and have made more than 5,500 stops so far this year, Hans said. Residents can mark areas where they spot unsafe driving, or that need increased police presence online, he said.
Read more Across the US, ‘Friday night lights’ provide a sense of community — and, for some, a way out
Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day.
