Driver In C-470 & Broadway Crash Cited For Careless Driving Resulting In Death
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (CBS4)- The driver of the SUV that struck and killed two construction workers in Douglas County on Tuesday has been charged.
Thomas Garrity has been cited with careless driving resulting in death which is a misdemeanor traffic offense.
The citation could change if investigators discover other evidence in the deadly crash. Garrity, 74, of Bellevue, Neb. has indicated there may have been a mechanical problem with the car.
The crash happened on South Broadway under C-470 on Tuesday. Police said Garrity was driving a blue 2007 Subaru Tribeca was traveling westbound on C-470 when he exited onto South Broadway.
"As the Subaru exited onto the offramp, the vehicle lost control and drove off the left side of the offramp and up onto the grassy embankment between the offramp and C-470," Colorado State Patrol spokesman Nate Reid said in a statement. "As the Subaru neared South Broadway it traveled down the embankment and struck two pedestrians who were working in a construction zone."
Joseph Schwartz, 47, of Morrison and Jesus Villalobos, 27, of Brighton were both killed.
Reid said the Subaru continued westbound and entered the northbound lanes of South Broadway where it struck a 2007 Honda pilot, which was traveling northbound. The driver of the Honda wasn't injured.
Both Garrity and his passenger, a 72-year-old woman, were taken to Littleton Adventist Hospital with moderate injuries.
Both Schwartz and Villalobos were longtime employees of Concrete Works of Colorado which is the contractor on the construction project along that stretch of South Broadway.
