Man Struck In Chain-Reaction Auto-Pedestrian Crashes Was In Bar That Night
WESTMINSTER, Colo. (CBS4) – A double auto-pedestrian accident closed Federal Boulevard at 102nd Avenue Thursday night in Westminster when the woman who struck a man stopped to help him and she was struck and killed instantly.
Police said a man suddenly entered the roadway around 8:45 p.m. Thursday and was hit by a truck traveling southbound on Federal Boulevard.
"He entered the roadway really suddenly, there's no crosswalk here or anything like that he suddenly entered the roadway in the southbound traffic," said Westminster Police spokeswoman Kate Kazell. "You can see out here extremely dark it's not very well lit in the specific area because there's no crosswalks or lights right here."
The female driver of the truck got out to check on the man and was struck herself by another car driving southbound on Federal Boulevard.
"It's tragic that she got out to help and she was also struck and ended up dying," said Kazell.
The woman died at the scene and the man was transported to the hospital with critical injuries.
"It's just a very, very unfortunate series of events," said Kazell. "And the cars pretty much didn't have time to stop."
"It's just sad to see anyone lose a life. Life is too short and it's just sad," said passerby Dustin Lobsinger.
"As of right now we don't suspect any drugs or alcohol or speeding or anything like that for either of the drivers in the vehicles," said Kazell.
Investigators stopped short of saying if the man hit in the initial accident was under the influence. However, CBS4 spoke to a bartender and patron of a nearby bar who said the victim was drinking there before the accident. Both people said the man was acting belligerent, caused multiple fights and had to be escorted out of the building.
Accident investigators were on the scene through the night. The southbound lanes of Federal Boulevard were closed between 103rd Avenue and 100th Avenue until early Friday morning.
Kelly Werthmann joined the CBS4 team in 2012 as the morning reporter, covering national stories like the Aurora Theater Shooting and devastating Colorado wildfires. She now reports for CBS4 News at 10 and is always open to story ideas. Connect with her on Facebook or Twitter @KellyCBS4.
