DENVER — Colorado State Sen. Faith Winter had a BAC twice the legal limit when she died in a car crash in late November, according to new documents from a coroner's office.
Winter, 45, died at the scene of the crash on the evening of Nov. 26.
The Scripps News Group obtained a Arapahoe County Coroner's Office report on her death, which found that her blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at the time of the crash was .185% — more than twice the legal limit, which under Colorado law, is .08%.
Her cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries from the crash, based on the report.
The crash happened in the northbound lanes of Interstate 25 on Nov. 26. That evening, deputies with the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office responded to two crashes in quick succession in that area.
The first crash happened around 6:05 p.m., when the driver of a Honda Civic collided with a Hyundai Tucson and a Toyota Highlander. Immediately afterward, a driver in a Ford F-350 stopped in the left lane of traffic. Winter, who was driving a Hyundai Ioniq 5 behind the Ford, rear-ended the truck, investigators said.
She was pronounced deceased at the scene. Nobody else was in that car.
Denver
'Deeply heartbroken': Colorado State Senator Faith Winter dies in car crash
During the subsequent investigation, the sheriff's office determined that Winter was at-fault in the second crash.
Authorities found that the truck did not have visible rear taillights at the time, however, the sheriff's office said the driver "had been driving with due regard."
No criminal charges will be filed in the crash involving Winter.
On Dec. 1, the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office told the Scripps News Group that this was expected to be a “detailed and complex” investigation and would take weeks to complete.
An official ethics investigation was opened in May 2024 after Winter appeared to be drunk at a Northglenn community meeting. In a statement, she apologized and stepped down as chair of the Senate Transportation & Energy Committee to focus on her health.
Winter represented Colorado's 25th District, which includes Broomfield, Westminster and Northglenn. Before she was elected as a state senator, Winter served in the Colorado House of Representatives. Before that, she served on the Westminster City Council.
Much of her work in the legislature included housing protections, environment and public transit.
In interviews with the Scripps News Group the day after Winter's death, her colleagues remembered her as a "small but mighty" public servant who was both inspiring and deeply dedicated to her work. Read more of their tributes here and hear from them in the video below.
