The attorney for a Grand Junction man accused of first-degree murder said some charges against him should be dropped because the victim was not a real person.

Logan Lage, 24, faces multiple charges in connection with a head-on crash Nov. 6. Authorities say he was fleeing from the Colorado State Patrol when he slammed into a vehicle driven by 26-year-old Shea Lehnen.

Lehnen was 8 1/2 months pregnant. Doctors performed a Caesarean section, delivering a girl, but the child died of asphyxia a few hours later. The coroner ruled the death a homicide.

Public defender Will McNulty said the baby, named Lileigh, was neither a "person" nor a "child" when the crash occurred. Prosecutors disagree.

Lage's preliminary hearing is set for March 21. He faces 15 charges, including first-degree murder with extreme indifference, child abuse causing death and first-degree assault with extreme indifference.

Lehnen and her 1-year-old son, who was strapped in a car seat, also received injuries in the crash. Lehnen was rushed to St. Mary's Hospital, where an emergency Caesarean section was performed.

Deputy Coroner Dr. Robert Kurtzman said injuries suffered in the crash by the baby's mother damaged the placenta, compromising blood flow to the baby, ruling the baby's death a homicide.

Colorado Bureau of Investigation records indicate Lage was on probation on methamphetamine and marijuana charges. He was driving a Jeep Cherokee, leading a trooper on a high-speed 15-mile pursuit through a winding canyon road when he crossed a double yellow line on Colorado Highway 65 to pass a semi and hit Lehnen's Nissan.