AURORA, Colo. — An on-duty Aurora police officer who was accused of causing a fatal crash pleaded guilty to a felony charge in August and was sentenced on Monday.
Eduardo Landeros was sentenced to 18 months in prison and two years of mandatory parole, according to the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. He was also ordered to pay restitution to the victim’s family.
His sentencing came after he pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide, which is a Class 5 felony, in August.
The charges stemmed from March 4. That evening, Landeros, who was 25 years old at the time, was responding to a burglary call along the 2300 block of S. Blackhawk Street.
Around 8:20 p.m., Landeros, who was driving an Aurora police Chevy Tahoe, crashed with the driver of a Toyota Corolla at the intersection of Chambers Road and Bates Avenue in the Meadow Wood neighborhood. APD said the Tahoe did not have lights or sirens activated since the officer was responding to a non-emergent call.
Landeros, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was seriously injured and transported to a hospital.
The 44-year-old driver of the Corolla, later identified as Elias Hans Anderson of Aurora, was transported to the hospital where he died. He was wearing a seatbelt, APD said.
He was a father of two.
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Video shows Aurora police cruiser speeding to call before fatal crash
Multiple sources told Denver7 Landeros was driving about 100 mph at the time of the crash.
Landeros, who was on the force for a little over a year, was responding to a Priority Two call, which according to APD policy, can be treated as an emergency. In those cases, police are required to use emergency signals and can exceed the speed limit “so long as the member does not endanger life or property.”
Surveillance video was released a few days after the crash showing the officer speeding to the call without using lights or sirens.
Landeros was scheduled for an internal affairs interview on April 26, but resigned from the APD the day prior.
After Monday’s sentencing, Landeros was taken into custody to begin serving his sentence.
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