Published on March 21, 2023
A Greeley man was sentenced to more than two decades in prison for stealing a tow truck in 2021 before crashing into multiple vehicles, including one driven by a Greeley police sergeant.
On June 28, 2021, Weld County dispatchers received multiple reports of a stolen tow truck hitting five vehicles in Greeley between 37th and 32nd avenues.
The defendant, Rudy Salazar, also crashed into a Greeley Police sergeant west of the police station while he was driving his personal vehicle. Salazar then crashed into a gate at the Greeley Police Department. Thankfully none of the victims were seriously injured.
As part of a plea agreement, the parties stipulated to 25 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections. Weld County Judge Timothy Kerns imposed the prison sentence Wednesday.
“ It truly is a miracle that no one was seriously injured or killed that morning,” Deputy District Attorney Christopher Jewkes said. “We absolutely will not tolerate this type of behavior in our community. It could have been a lot worse, but we’re grateful that other than damage to vehicles that can be replaced, we didn’t have any fatalities.”
Deputy District Attorney Christopher Jewkes prosecuted this case.