Driver Charged In Deadly C-470 Crash Blames Faulty Brakes
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (CBS4)- The driver of the SUV charged with the deaths of two construction workers on C-470 has claimed his brakes were faulty.
Thomas Garrity of Nebraska has been charged with careless driving resulting in death for the Nov. 20 crash.
Garrity, 74, said his brakes failed before he slammed into a worksite at C-470 and Broadway.
The Colorado State Patrol said it has found no evidence of brake problems on Garrity's vehicle.
Colorado State Patrol spokesman Nate Reid said Garrity was driving a blue 2007 Subaru Tribeca traveling westbound on C-470 when it exited onto South Broadway.
"As the Subaru exited onto the offramp, the vehicle lost control and drove off the left side of the offramp and up onto the grassy embankment between the offramp and C-470," Ried said in a statement. "As the Subaru neared South Broadway it traveled down the embankment and struck two pedestrians who were working in a construction zone."
Joseph Schwartz, 47, of Morrison and Jesus Villalobos, 27, of Brighton were struck and killed. Both Schwartz and Villalobos were longtime employees of Concrete Works of Colorado working on the construction project along that stretch of Broadway.
Garrity and his passenger, a 72-year-old woman, were taken to Littleton Adventist Hospital with moderate injuries.
