Fatal Hit & Run Suspect Faces Judge, Victim's Mother Has No 'Hard Feelings'
DENVER (CBS4) - A 30-year-old woman suspected in a hit-and-run crash on Colfax Avenue that left a 22-year-old man dead faced a judge on Monday morning.
Brenda Rosales Montoya tentatively faces charges that include vehicular homicide, reckless driving and leaving the scene of a deadly accident.
The crash happened early Sunday morning on West Colfax near Fox Street. According to the arrest affidavit, Montoya was traveling in an SUV at twice the speed limit when she hit Andrew Marthaler, who was crossing the street.
Marthaler, 22, died shortly afterwards. According to his family he was a recent graduate from the University of Colorado and had a very bright future.
"There's a time to be born and a time to die, and God decides those. So I trust him that he knew the time," Andrew Marthaler's mother Sandy Marthaler told CBS4.
Someone driving behind Montoya at the time spotted the crash and followed Montoya to record her license plate.
Officers tracked it to a Federal Heights address and spotted the black SUV believed to be involved. According to court documents, the SUV was damaged and had blood on the undercarriage.
Police say Montoya confessed both to hitting the victim and then driving off. She is being held on a $50,000 bond.
"I'm not thinking about her. I don't have any hard feelings for her really because I don't even know her. I concentrate on what's true, on what's noble and what's praise-worthy," Sandy Marthaler said. "Nobody is immune to bad things happening to them. I don't like hit-and-runs, I think it's very irresponsible. I think if you hit somebody you need to own up to it and stop your car and get out talk to the police."
