A Douglas County jury found a 27-year-old Thornton man guilty of killing two people from Texas and seriously injuring two others in a crash he caused while driving high in a stolen truck.
Skylar Pagano was found guilty Dec. 16 of 17 counts, including vehicular homicide DUI in the deaths of Festus Poyner and Julee Davis, both of whom were 32 years old.
Pagano was driving a stolen Ford F150 southbound on Colorado 83 with a female passenger. He was speeding – driving 80 mph where the speed limit was 65 mph. He moved to pass in a no-passing zone on a curve and hit a Toyota RAV4 driven by Poyner head-on.
The driver compartment of the RAV4 was crushed. Poyner and passenger Davis were declared dead at the scene. Their 2-year-old son was in a car seat in the back. He survived with serious, life-threatening injuries.
Pagano and his passenger were both seriously injured.
Pagano told investigators he was high on methamphetamines when he crashed.
“There are few more selfish acts than getting high on drugs, climbing behind the wheel of a Ford F150, and speeding down the road used by our families,” said District Attorney George Brauchler. “Here, this narcissistic act did more than break nearly all the bones of the innocent parents of a 2-year-old boy, it broke his family — killing them and leaving him parentless. And in a discussion about killing two people, this guy callously responds ‘people die everyday.’ Despicable.”
Pagano was convicted of:
• 2 counts of vehicular homicide DUI
• 4 counts of first-degree assault
• 1 count of reckless child abuse
• 2 counts of vehicular homicide reckless driving
• 2 counts of vehicular assault DUI
• 2 counts vehicular assault (reckless)
• 1 count possession of drug paraphernalia
• 3 traffic counts
Sentencing is set for Feb. 18., 2020, at 1:30 p.m.