Pregnant Mother Loses Baby In Hit & Run Crash
LONGMONT, Colo. (CBS4) - Investigators in Longmont on Friday were studying the site of a hit-and-run crash that involved a pregnant driver who lost her baby.
The crash happened on Thursday afternoon at the intersection of 17th and Pace.
The woman and two others were in a sedan when it collided with an SUV. The SUV driver left the scene after the collision but a witness followed him and that led police to Gary Sheets, 52.
Gary Sheats (credit: Longmont Police Dept.)
Sheets is suspected of driving drunk. He is a multiple DUI offender. He was arrested at his parent's home.
"The witness was a tremendous help last night," said Longmont Police Commander Jeff Satur.
Sheat's father, Billy, said his son has cancer, Stage 4 Lymphoma, and only has a short time to live.
Sheats was staying with his parents as his mobile home was being repaired. His father said Sheats was traveling the country in the mobile home. Billy said he didn't know that his son had four previous DUIs.
"Anytime people drive drunk they run that risk but you see those cases where people push their luck and it results in tragic circumstances," said Satur.
The woman was in the last trimester of her pregnancy, and she was critically hurt when her car was hit and then sent spinning into another vehicle. So far police haven't released her name.
The woman's mother and 5-year-old son were also in the car and were hurt in the crash.
It's not clear at this point who had the green light right before the crash happened.
Accident reconstruction teams spent Friday afternoon taking pictures of the intersection where the crash happened. Photographs and skid marks will help investigators build their case.
Police are asking any additional witnesses to come forward with information that may provide clues as to what happened in the crash.
