Officials said Friday that the drunk driver who caused a fatal collision that sent the vehicle plummeting 200 feet from a cliff in the Simi Valley on Christmas 2022 has been sentenced.
Michael Gordon Butler, 40, of Simi Valley, will serve four years in jail for the killing of the passenger in his car that evening, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
Coldren James Lee Udell Kiblinger, the passenger, was recognized as being 23 years old when he passed away.
It took place on Santa Susana Pass Road, just east of Box Canyon Road, on December 25, 2022, at approximately 6:35 p.m.
When police from the California Highway Patrol received a 911 call, they learned that a Corvette had crashed and fallen 200 feet down an embankment.
“Butler, who had recently purchased the car, left a family Christmas gathering around 6 p.m. with 23-year-old Coldren as his passenger,” explained the DA’s Office. “When the pair failed to return, concerned relatives used location-tracking apps to find the crash site and contacted authorities.”
Investigators ultimately concluded, according to CHP, that Butler was operating a car at a high speed while intoxicated, lost control, and collided with trees and the slope, “causing fatal injuries to Coldren.”
On April 24, 2025, Butler entered a guilty plea to one count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
He was found guilty of a major criminal and that there was a significant amount of violence in the offense when he was sentenced on May 20.
“This was a preventable tragedy,” said Deputy District Attorney Jillian Ewan, a member of the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office. “While no amount of time will bring Coldren back, I hope the guilty plea will give some sense of justice and closure for the hardship Coldren’s family and friends have endured.”
