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RFTA bus gets rear-ended by drunken driver

Jason Auslander
The Aspen Times

A 31-year-old Basalt woman who allegedly rear-ended a Roaring Fork Transportation Authority bus early Friday morning near the Aspen Business Center and fled was later arrested for drunken driving, according to a police report.

Kristin Oda denied hitting the bus after she was pulled over near Basalt and said she hadn’t been drinking, though she smelled of alcohol, slurred her speech and police found open alcohol containers in her car, the report states.

“She continued to show signs of higher levels of intoxication during my continued contact and transport,” a trooper with the Colorado State Patrol wrote in the report.



The hit-and-run incident with the bus was first reported to police at 12:31 a.m., the report states. The bus driver, who was heading to Glenwood Springs in a 45-foot bus, said he was traveling in the right-hand lane when he felt something strike the back right side of the bus, said Dan Blankenship, Roaring Fork Transportation Authority general manager.

The driver then saw the vehicle that hit the bus pass him on the left side and continue downvalley, Blankenship said.




After police stopped Oda near Basalt, they found that her balance was “highly unsteady” and that “she was confused and repeated statements and actions,” the report states.

“She stated she had nothing to drink,” according to the report. “Located in the vehicle were two open alcoholic beverage containers and several empty containers.”

Oda, who was convicted of DUI in August 2011, refused to take roadside sobriety tests and was arrested for driving under the influence, the report states. She also had no proof of insurance.

Oda was charged with DUI, no insurance, careless driving and leaving the scene of an accident.

Damage to the RFTA bus was minor, and a report from the driver did not indicate there were any injuries as a result of the accident, Blankenship said.

jauslander@aspentimes.com