AURORA | A repeat drunk driver has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for running over and killing an Aurora man in a crosswalk last year.
Christopher Tarr, 42, was convicted last month of second-degree murder and other charges for the August 2016 slaying of Dalton McCreary, 22. McCreary was crossing East Iliff Avenue at South Chambers Road when police say Tarr, who was driving drunk, slammed into McCreary and narrowly missed McCreary’s friend. Investigators say McCreary pushed his friend out of the way right before he was hit.
In a statement Tuesday, Arapahoe County prosecutors said Tarr had a prior drunk driving conviction and had taken a court-mandated Mothers Against Drunk Driving course detailing the effects of drunk driving before the fatal crash. Still, prosecutors say, he opted to drive drunk that night and had a blood alcohol content more than three times the legal limit.
“He knew well the risks drunk driving creates in our community, but he didn’t care. He didn’t care so much he tried to get away after he ran over the victim,” District Attorney George Brauchler said in the statement. “Prison is the right outcome and the right message for those among us who continue to put our loved ones at risk by driving drunk.”