54-year-old woman in Toyota Camry went 'tit for tat' with 21-year-old in a Dodge Challenger in a street race that killed a pedestrian: Police

Two Colorado natives person been charged successful transportation with an alleged velocity contention that killed a pedestrian precocious past year.

Jacob Morton, 21, and Kari Frederick, 54, were some arrested connected April 1 pursuing an probe into the car crash that killed 63-year-old Gary Descheene connected Dec. 11, 2025. According to the Grand Junction Police Department, some Morton and Frederick were charged with engaging successful a velocity contest and reckless driving. Morton was besides charged with 2 counts of vehicular homicide, 1 of which accused him of being nether the power of drugs astatine the time.

Grand Junction-based quality outlet The Daily Sentinel obtained an apprehension affidavit that said Morton and Frederick were down the respective wheels of a Dodge Challenger and a Toyota Camry erstwhile the 2 encountered each different and allegedly tried to velocity past each other.

According to the affidavit, Descheene was walking done a crosswalk astir 8:30 p.m. connected Dec. 11, 2025, erstwhile helium was deed by the Challenger that was allegedly being driven by Morton. Frederick witnessed the collision and told constabulary "that it could person been [her]." When asked if she and Morton had discussed racing each other, Frederick denied it.

When constabulary questioned Morton aft the crash, helium told a antithetic story. Police said Morton told them that helium and Frederick started going "tit for tat" with each different portion driving, saying that they would accelerate and walk each other. According to the affidavit, Morton changed his communicative astir erstwhile they started and stopped racing each other. At 1 point, helium told constabulary they started racing arsenic they approached an intersection a fewer blocks from wherever the clang took place, but astatine different clip helium said that was wherever they stopped racing.

Both Morton and Frederick were recovered to beryllium speeding earlier the infinitesimal of the crash. Frederick was allegedly driving astir 22 mph implicit the velocity bounds close earlier the crash; Morton was allegedly driving 67 mph earlier helium ran into Descheene.

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Police said Morton admitted to smoking "two puffs of marijuana 'leaf'" astir 4 hours earlier helium got down the wheel. According to the affidavit, his tract sobriety trial was "unsatisfactory." A humor gully revealed a level of THC that fell precisely astatine the ineligible threshold for "permissible inference" of impairment.

While constabulary said Frederick was not straight progressive successful the crash, they wrote successful the affidavit that her speeding was "reckless."

Both Morton and Frederick posted enslaved and were released from the Mesa County Detention Center. Morton is scheduled to look successful tribunal connected April 8; Frederick is scheduled to look connected April 24.