Young Father Killed In Crash With Westminster Police Cruiser
DENVER (CBS4) - An argument sent a young man into his car and ultimately to his death.
Two-month-old Travis Wood III, born with Down syndrome, will grow up without his father.
"If you hold him in your lap like this, he will lean his head back and try to look for his dad because his dad always came up from behind and kissed him on his forehead," said Julie Stantistevan, the infant's young mother.
Stantistevan's fiancé, Travis Wood, was in his Chevy Malibu when he collided with a Westminster police officer at Federal Boulevard and West 88th Avenue on Thursday. Police say the officer was running red lights with sirens activated while answering a call at 1 a.m. and says the motorist turned in front of the officer's cruiser.
An accident investigation team will reconstruct what happened by procedure without the Westminster Police Department's involvement. However, two days after Wood was killed a few blocks from where they lived together, Santisteven is afraid the police will bury the truth.
"Because if the cop was in the wrong I feel they're going to try to hide it," she said.
Stantistevan said Wood was driving late at night after they had an argument.
"He was driving around to cool down because we had an argument that night," she said.
Stantistevan doesn't believe he took out his anger on the road.
"I know for a fact he was coming home to fix the problems and coming home to be with me and the baby."
Wood also leaves behind a 3-year-old son named Sarge from a previous marriage.
"I was always scared to be a single mom ... and now I am," said Stantistevan, who is 19.
The family was told the investigation results should be known in about three months.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help Wood's fiancé and his children.
Howard Nathan is a veteran newsman. Decades later, he still enjoys writing a clever sentence, asking the tough question and talking to people in Colorado. Follow him on Twitter @CBS4Howard and read his bio.
