CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- A father who left his 2-and-a-half-year-old son unbuckled in a vehicle before it plowed into several cars at 75 miles per hour in Arapahoe County admitted he did it on purpose during a court appearance Wednesday.
Nathan Weitzel, 31, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree attempted murder after deliberation – a class 2 felony.
On August 21, 2016, Weitzel was driving an Acura sedan at 75 miles per hour when it crashed into several parked cars in the 6000 block of Eudora Way, a press release from the District Attorney’s Office for the 18th Judicial District said.
Weitzel put his own seat belt on, but told deputies he didn’t put his son in a child seat and didn’t restrain him on purpose.
Investigators say Weitzel had been using cocaine prior to the incident and wanted to kill his son “because being a father was a big responsibility,” and “he did not think he was man enough to raise a child.”
Weitzel’s young son has since recovered from injuries sustained in the crash, the district attorney’s office said.
Weitzel had previously pleaded not guilty by reasons of insanity. Prosecutors agreed to drop six other charges in the case in exchange for the most recent plea.
He'll be sentenced on April 3.