A jury convicted 31-year-old Taylor Douglas on Tuesday for causing a high-speed crash that killed a 71-year-old woman and severely injured her husband last April.

Douglas was convicted of vehicular homicide, a class four felony, and reckless driving, according to a news release from the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

Investigators said Douglas was driving almost 100 mph in the seconds leading up to the crash.

Aurora police responded to the crash around 3:30 p.m. on April 15, 2024 at South Chambers Road and East Center Avenue. The victim’s husband told police they had been T-boned while leaving a dialysis center and turning onto South Chambers Road.

Douglas initially told investigators that he was driving about 55mph when the other car tried to turn in front of him. He wasn’t able to stop in time, he told investigators at the time.

Multiple witnesses later reported that Douglas’ vehicle passed them moments prior to the collision, with one witness saying he was weaving in and out of traffic and another saying he was driving more than 60 mph in a 40 mph zone.

Police searched the electronic data from Douglas’ car and found that he was going 98 mph three seconds before the crash. Accident reconstruction estimated his speed at about 73 mph during the collision.

“This tragedy was entirely preventable,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Eckhardt said. “Mr. Douglas chose to drive at nearly 100 miles per hour on a busy Aurora roadway, and that reckless decision cost an innocent woman her life and left her husband with devastating injuries. Our community deserves accountability, and this verdict reflects the jury’s careful consideration of the evidence and the harm caused.”

District Attorney Amy Padden supports increasing penalties for cases like this, according to the news release.

“Every victim and every grieving family deserves a justice system that treats vehicular homicide cases with the gravity it warrants,” District Attorney Amy Padden said. “My office continues to have productive conversations with legislators to pursue reforms that hold offenders fully accountable for these preventable tragedies.”

Under current law, Douglas faces a maximum sentence of six years in the Department of Corrections. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 16, 2026.