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Friends & Family Gather To Remember Teen Killed In Aurora Crash

DENVER (CBS4) – Police in Denver believe the person driving a vehicle that crashed into another on Colfax Avenue and killed a teenager had ran a red light, was speeding and may have also been drinking.

Juan Carlos Dominguez-Palomino
Juan Carlos Dominguez-Palomino (credit: Dominguez-Palomino family)

The crash, which was recorded by a nearby surveillance camera, happened at East Colfax Avenue and Dayton Street in Denver just after midnight on Monday.

COLFAX DEADLY ACCIDENT 5PKG
The gathering on Monday (credit: CBS)

By Monday evening dozens of flowers and candles were placed at the crash site in memory of Juan Carlos Dominguez-Palomino, a 17-year-old student whose family and friends say was robbed of his future.

In the video, after the impact a blue Camaro can be seen being nearly sent into a business before twisting and disappearing off camera.

"We usually on Sundays go cruising and he was by himself this time and we really regret leaving him alone this time," said friend Misael Longoria.

Dominguez-Palomino's principal at Aurora West College Preparatory Academy, Brian Duwe, said the senior was a great student.

"He had his whole world in front of him; a really good kid," Duwe said.

Dominguez-Palomino's friends and family came to pay their respects to a boy they say loved cars and planned on being a mechanic.

"Juan was my best friend … my right hand man for everything," said Longoria.

"I love you Juan," his mother Blanca Palomino said at the gathering.

The driver of the Ford Expedition who allegedly ran the red light is in the hospital with serious injuries. Aurora police won't release his identity until they decide whether or not to press charges.

The family of Juan Carlos is calling for an arrest to be made.

"Her son didn't deserve to die and she wants the biggest sentence for the person who did this to him," said a friend.

Dominguez-Palomino's friends say he was a great friend, brother and student and was supposed to graduate in May, a month before his 18th birthday.

The death is especially hard for the community at Aurora West College Preparatory Academy, which is not far from the accident site. It's the second death the school has had this year.

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