Hit & Run Victim Remembered By Fiancee
DENVER (CBS4)- Jonathan Lewis was struck and killed on Tuesday by a driver who sped away from the scene. Lewis' fiancee said he had overcome much in his short life.
Several years ago Lewis, 35, lost an eye while helping a woman who was being attacked by a group of men.
Lewis was struck about 2 a.m. Tuesday at 9th and Colorado. Police say they found Lewis in the street. He died on scene just a few blocks from his home.
Police arrested Nathan Beechley just hours later for the deadly hit and run.
Beechley appeared before a judge on Wednesday wearing a suicide smock, a protective outfit designed to keep inmates from hurting themselves. His feet were bare and his ankles were shackled.
Lewis' fiancee, Christina Bellecourt, said they were not only planning their life together but also starting a family.
"It just hurts that he's not here now," said Bellecourt. "The dream that we wanted is now gone."
Lewis was walking across Colorado Blvd. to the couple's apartment. He was going home after visiting his favorite bar when he was struck.
Bellecourt said she can't imagine what kind of person would run down another human being and then drive away.
"The fact that he didn't even stop. I understand that people panic, a normal human emotion, but there needs to be remorse," said Bellecourt.
Lewis' father, James Lewis, has a question for Beechley, "I would ask him what he was thinking at that moment. It could have been he's so out of it he didn't know at all."
Beechley's friends told CBS4 outside of the courtroom, "Everyone that knows him knows the type of person he is."
Beechley's criminal history is 11 pages long with arrests for DUI, careless driving and numerous traffic violations. He remains behind bars on a $10,000 bond.
Lewis' father said he had a vision that something bad would happen on that road. He even told his son not to cross it late at night.;
