The man who caused a fatal crash Monday along Highway 83 near Franktown was on parole and had a lengthy criminal record dating back to at least 2013, Denver7 Investigates learned.
Multiple sources close to the investigation confirmed to Denver7 Investigates that Walter Huling, 31, was the man driving a stolen Toyota Matrix hatchback when he lost control and slammed into a Ford sedan in the oncoming lane. Huling was killed along with four people in the sedan, including three juveniles.
The victims killed in the sedan were identified as 35-year-old father Alvin Corado, Toretto Corado, 8, Makenlee Corado, 12, and Jase Green, 12.
Huling was the only deceased party in the crash not identified, but law enforcement did say that the Toyota Matrix was reported stolen from RTD's Nine Mile station in Aurora roughly an hour before the crash.
The victim in the theft said a man pulled her from her car and drove away after she refused to give him a ride.
Court documents show Huling had a long criminal history, including two stints in prison at the Colorado Department of Corrections.
“I mean, it’s an 11-page criminal history that dates back to when this guy was a juvenile,” said George Brauchler, district attorney for the 23rd Judicial District, where the accident occurred.
Denver7 Investigates took the information to Brauchler, who is questioning the system that allowed Huling to get back on the streets.
“This guy’s criminal history and the fact that he appears to have been on parole and this happened seems like we are failing the community,” Brauchler said.
Public records show that Huling was first arrested on assault charges in 2013 at age 18. He had 15 subsequent arrests over the next six years on charges ranging from false reporting, bribery, burglary, contempt of court, driving under the influence, parole violations and multiple other assaults.
In 2019, he was sentenced to six years in prison related to an assault in downtown Denver after he knocked a man unconscious and assaulted the man’s wife. He was also charged with assaulting the police officer who arrested him.
Denver7 Investigates has reached out to the Colorado Department of Corrections for information on the conditions of Huling’s parole, but has not yet heard back.
“I think there’s a lot of justifiable anger and questions that should go on after a case like this,” Brauchler said. “I’ve got questions for the state of Colorado, especially a guy that was on parole after he had a parole violation, and those questions have to be stern, and that is, ‘What are we doing?’ Who are you putting out here on the streets?”
