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Mother Of Arvada Hit & Run Victim: 'He Was My Only Child'

ARVADA, Colo. (CBS4) - Arvada police are hunting for a driver involved in a deadly hit-and-run on Sunday.

Investigators say Lee Barry Chandler, 61, died after he was hit while he was walking across Sheridan Boulevard.

"He was my only child. I spent my life raising him for this to happen; somebody to run him down and not even stop," said Chandler's mother Carol Renick.

Renick

Renick and Chandler lived together in their Arvada home.

"He was in the process of painting the trim on the house. That has not been completed and of course he won't be back," Renick said.

The accident happened just before 9 p.m. near 82nd Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard.

Witnesses say the vehicle was a dark older model Honda. An apparent mirror from the vehicle was found at the scene. The car likely has damage to the front driver's side.

"There's been a rash of hit-and-runs in the Denver metro area. The only thing we have on this is an older model Honda with the mirror torn off. We're trying to find out any information to try and aid the family," Sgt. Bob Vander Veen with Arvada police said.

Carol Renick
Carol Renick (credit: CBS)

The car didn't slow down after hitting Chandler and continued driving south on Sheridan before turning west onto 80th Avenue.

Renick urges people who saw something to come forward.

"Please come forward because the next time it could be you or one of your family members," she said. ""How do you feel right now? You killed someone and you didn't even have the decency to stop … what if that happened to a member of their family? How would they like it?"

Crime arvada hit and run
(credit: CBS)

On Monday evening a roadside memorial to Chandler was growing at the spot of the crash.

Additional Resources

Arvada police released the following information about this case:

The suspect vehicle sustained driver's side damage and a driver's side view mirror was recovered at the scene. The Arvada Police Department is asking for anyone who may have seen anything unusual in that timeframe to call either Detective Alan Stephens at 720-898-6711 or Sgt. Bob Vander Veen at 720-898-6666. We are also asking anyone who does auto body work to call if someone brings in a vehicle needing repair matching the description of the suspect vehicle.

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