Deadly Hit & Run Suspected Driver Appears In Court
DENVER (CBS4)- The man police believe struck and killed a University of Denver graduate student last week appeared before a judge for the first time on Wednesday.
Friends remembered Masoud Bahramisharif as they sat in the courtroom and watched.
"If you're like me I know your faith has been shaken up by this. I used to think there was a reason for everything, but now I am not so sure," said Bahramisharif's friend Golinz Vazirabadi.
Officers arrested Andrew Simpson at a home in Aurora late Monday. Detectives believe he is the man who drove over Bahramisharif on May 31 as the University of Denver graduate student was walking his bicycle across the intersection of University and Evans.
Detectives seized his vehicle they said matches that of the vehicle seen in the surveillance video of the scene. Neighbors said the SUV had front-end damage.
"The grill was broken, there was some paint missing, damage to the hood," said Simpson's neighbor Wayne Gardner.
The judged ordered Simpson, 45, held on $250,000 bond at his court appearance Wednesday. He is being held for investigation of vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident. Formal charges could come later this week.
"It's not what a human would do. At least if you do something like that I don't know under what circumstances he was, what he was thinking, but the least thing you have to do is just stay there, see what happened, try to help," said Bahramisharif's friend Ali Ghamkhar.
Bahramisharif's friends, all from Iran, came to the courthouse to see the suspect and also learn more about how justice works in the U.S.
"I just think that this person is kind of dangerous for this society and we hope that he receives the sentence that he deserves," said Bahramisharif's friend Sarvin Tabatabaei.
