1 Teen Killed, 3 Others Injured In Crash In Fort Lupton
FORT LUPTON, Colo. (CBS4) - A 14-year-old boy was killed and three other teenagers were injured after a crash in Fort Lupton early Tuesday.
The crash happened just after 2 a.m. at 9th Street and Park Avenue. The car the teens were in hit a parked van.
Investigators believe the driver was going too fast around a corner and lost control.
"It was enough force that it moved the van about 40 feet across a light pole," Fort Lupton Police Chief Ken Poncelow.
The three who were injured are a 14-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy who was the driver. The injured third boy may be 12 or 13 years old.
One teen was airlifted to Children's Hospital in Aurora, according Poncelow. The others were taken to local hospitals in ambulances. They are all reported to be in serious condition.
One resident near where the crash occurred, Janet Cruz, was especially shaken up. She said she heard the crash, but when she came outside she didn't immediately see anything, so she went back in. Now she said she's overcome with guilt for not doing more.
"I should have walked down here. I should have come down. Maybe I could have made a difference. I don't know, but I didn't see anything. I did not see anything," Cruz said.
"When I looked through the window I saw another little head on the opposite side. So I went to the other side of the car and there was another individual behind the passenger who was just completely pinned in with the car. His head was up for a second. I asked him if he was okay, he mumbled something and his head dropped down," neighbor Cameron Ryan said.
Ryan witnessed the boy die.
No names have been released but CBS4 talked with Fort Lupton resident Ted Bucher, who said his grandson was in the car and survived with a broken leg and facial injuries.
"Very devastated and very worried; still am," Bucher said.
Bucher said his grandson told his mother at 9 p.m. that he was tired and was going to bed. When news of the accident spread Bucher's wife called the boy's mother.
"My wife insisted that she go in the room and check, and when she went into the room he had put the old sleeping bag under the blanket trick and crawled out in the middle of the night without any of us knowing," Bucher said.
It appears the boys may have violated teen driving laws since it appears they aren't related.
The investigation is focused on excessive speed. Witnesses say the car was going as fast as 75 miles per hour. So far it doesn't appear that drugs or alcohol were involved.
