News
ENLARGE
EAGLE, Colorado — David Perzanowski admitted in court he was drunk, and if he'd had waited for the bus Lewis Cook would still be alive.
But he didn't. He said he was tired. So Perzanowski and his .189 blood alcohol level climbed behind the wheel of his 2007 Jeep Cherokee and drove toward East Vail.
Lewis Cook III had been in Vail with friends and missed the bus to East Vail, so he decided to walk the two miles to his condo. No one was surprised he walked. He was an All American swimmer and liked to take the stairs instead of the elevator to his fiance's sixth-floor apartment.
At 1:50 a.m. Sunday March 6, their lives crossed. One ended.
Perzanowski's Jeep left no skid marks to indicate he might have hit the brakes when he hit Cook, who was walking on the shoulder of Big Horn Road in East Vail, investigators said.
That was 1:50 a.m. Sunday, March 6. Cook was killed instantly, less than a quarter mile from his condo.
Perzanowski pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and DUI. District Court Judge Tom Moorhead sentenced him to four years in state prison, the minimum sentence.
But in a hearing Thursday afternoon, Moorhead suspended Perzanowski's prison time and sentenced him to six years of supervised probation and alcohol treatment programs. If he fails anywhere along the way, Perzanowski goes to prison for the maximum 16 years.
He'll be free next Wednesday.
Pleas from family
Susan Cook, Lewis's mother, was one of many family and friends who asked Moorhead not to modify Perzanowski's sentence.
“I wish my son could spend a couple years in jail instead of the sentence he gave him,” Cook said, nodding slightly toward Perzanowski.
He sat hunched at the defendant's table, head down, dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit and shower shoes, a stainless steel chain stretched between his ankles.
“I've thought about Lewis every day since this happened,” Perzanowski said, his voice breaking as tears and quiet crying welled up in the packed courtroom.
“It's not just the guy doing 100 mph drunk out of his mind who ends up in this situation.”
He apologized to the Cook family, but Susan Cook dismissed it.
“This is the first time Mr. Perzanowski has addressed any of Lewis's family or friends,” she told Moorhead.
Perzanowski has a prior alcohol conviction from 2006, according to court records.
“This is playing Russian roulette with other people's lives,” Cook said.
She mentioned a story she read about a man who stole a watch and was sentenced to five years.
“Please don't tell me the State of Colorado values my son's life less than a Rolex,” Cook told Moorhead before he modified Perzanowski's sentence.
District Attorney Mark Hurlbert's office had asked for a 10-year sentence. The felony carried a maximum sentence of 16 years.
Perzanowski had been drinking in bars in Vail, Hurlbert said.
“The sentence was just the day the court imposed it, and it's just today,” assistant District Attorney Steve Mallory told Moorhead.
Moorhead, looking down at Perzanowski at the podium in front of his bench, asked him if he understood the consequences of failure: 16 years in prison.
“Yes sir, I do,” Perzanowski answered to each of Moorhead's questions.
“I am convinced you will be successful,” Moorhead told him as he reduced Perzanowski's sentence from prison to probation.
About the victim
Lewis Cook III was a fifth generation Coloradan. His family has a home in East Vail.
Cook was born Jan. 4, 1979 in San Francisco, where he attended University High School. He was a four-time All-American swimmer in high school and played water polo at Princeton, where he graduated with honors in 2001 with a degree in economics.
He worked for a few years in real estate in Austin, Texas, before earning his MBA from Duke University. He was recognized as a Duke Scholar in 2007.
He returned to Austin to work for Simmons Vedder in acquisitions before starting his own real estate investment company last year. He was directing a project for his family's oil and gas interests at the time of his death.
Staff Writer Randy Wyrick can be reached at 970-748-2935 or rwyrick@vaildaily.com.
But he didn't. He said he was tired. So Perzanowski and his .189 blood alcohol level climbed behind the wheel of his 2007 Jeep Cherokee and drove toward East Vail.
Lewis Cook III had been in Vail with friends and missed the bus to East Vail, so he decided to walk the two miles to his condo. No one was surprised he walked. He was an All American swimmer and liked to take the stairs instead of the elevator to his fiance's sixth-floor apartment.
At 1:50 a.m. Sunday March 6, their lives crossed. One ended.
Perzanowski's Jeep left no skid marks to indicate he might have hit the brakes when he hit Cook, who was walking on the shoulder of Big Horn Road in East Vail, investigators said.
That was 1:50 a.m. Sunday, March 6. Cook was killed instantly, less than a quarter mile from his condo.
Perzanowski pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and DUI. District Court Judge Tom Moorhead sentenced him to four years in state prison, the minimum sentence.
But in a hearing Thursday afternoon, Moorhead suspended Perzanowski's prison time and sentenced him to six years of supervised probation and alcohol treatment programs. If he fails anywhere along the way, Perzanowski goes to prison for the maximum 16 years.
He'll be free next Wednesday.
Pleas from family
Susan Cook, Lewis's mother, was one of many family and friends who asked Moorhead not to modify Perzanowski's sentence.
“I wish my son could spend a couple years in jail instead of the sentence he gave him,” Cook said, nodding slightly toward Perzanowski.
He sat hunched at the defendant's table, head down, dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit and shower shoes, a stainless steel chain stretched between his ankles.
“I've thought about Lewis every day since this happened,” Perzanowski said, his voice breaking as tears and quiet crying welled up in the packed courtroom.
“It's not just the guy doing 100 mph drunk out of his mind who ends up in this situation.”
He apologized to the Cook family, but Susan Cook dismissed it.
“This is the first time Mr. Perzanowski has addressed any of Lewis's family or friends,” she told Moorhead.
Perzanowski has a prior alcohol conviction from 2006, according to court records.
“This is playing Russian roulette with other people's lives,” Cook said.
She mentioned a story she read about a man who stole a watch and was sentenced to five years.
“Please don't tell me the State of Colorado values my son's life less than a Rolex,” Cook told Moorhead before he modified Perzanowski's sentence.
District Attorney Mark Hurlbert's office had asked for a 10-year sentence. The felony carried a maximum sentence of 16 years.
Perzanowski had been drinking in bars in Vail, Hurlbert said.
“The sentence was just the day the court imposed it, and it's just today,” assistant District Attorney Steve Mallory told Moorhead.
Moorhead, looking down at Perzanowski at the podium in front of his bench, asked him if he understood the consequences of failure: 16 years in prison.
“Yes sir, I do,” Perzanowski answered to each of Moorhead's questions.
“I am convinced you will be successful,” Moorhead told him as he reduced Perzanowski's sentence from prison to probation.
About the victim
Lewis Cook III was a fifth generation Coloradan. His family has a home in East Vail.
Cook was born Jan. 4, 1979 in San Francisco, where he attended University High School. He was a four-time All-American swimmer in high school and played water polo at Princeton, where he graduated with honors in 2001 with a degree in economics.
He worked for a few years in real estate in Austin, Texas, before earning his MBA from Duke University. He was recognized as a Duke Scholar in 2007.
He returned to Austin to work for Simmons Vedder in acquisitions before starting his own real estate investment company last year. He was directing a project for his family's oil and gas interests at the time of his death.
Staff Writer Randy Wyrick can be reached at 970-748-2935 or rwyrick@vaildaily.com.
