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Eagle County deputy recovering after being struck by cars

Edward Stoner
Vail Correspondent
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado

EAGLE, Colorado – A sheriff’s deputy who was hit by two cars while investigating an accident on Interstate 70 is recovering at home.

Deputy John Brownlee, of the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, has been released from the hospital after sustaining a broken leg in the May 1 incident.

Two men who police say were driving the cars that hit Brownlee are scheduled to appear before County Judge Katharine T. Sullivan this morning. The men, Jamison Bair, 19, of Eagle, and Francisco Granados, 23, of Avon, will be advised of the charges against them.



For Bair, State Patrol is recommending charges of felony vehicular assault, driving under the influence of alcohol and careless driving causing serious bodily injury.

For Granados, the recommended charges are felony vehicular assault, driving under the influence of alcohol, careless driving causing serious bodily injury and fleeing the scene after causing bodily injury.



District Attorney Mark Hurlbert said Monday that his office has not determined which charges will be pursued against the men.

Alamosa District Court records show that in January, Bair pleaded guilty to felony drug possession, and in March was given a three-year deferred sentence. Bair was arrested by Adams State College police after he sold cocaine to an informant in a dorm room, according to a police affidavit. Bair graduated in 2009 from Eagle Valley High School, where he was an accomplished golfer, qualifying for the 4A high school state tournament in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

In the May 1 incident on Interstate 70, Brownlee was walking back to his patrol car shortly after 1:30 a.m. with a driver who had been in an accident on a bridge on the eastbound side of Interstate 70 three miles west of Wolcott, according to a statement from the State Patrol.

As the two were walking on the shoulder of the interstate, Bair lost control of the Subaru Outback he was driving on the icy bridge and hit Brownlee, pulling over to the shoulder afterward, the statement said.

A few moments later, Brownlee was struck again, this time by a Chevrolet Avalanche driven by Granados, who kept driving afterward, the statement said. Granados was stopped by police nine miles past the incident at the Edwards exit of I-70.

Staff Writer Edward Stoner can be reached at 970-748-2929 or estoner@vaildaily.com.


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