Driver Wanted In Deadly Hit & Run Talks To Investigators
ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4)- The driver involved in a deadly crash that left a 2-year-old boy dead is talking to authorities.
The crash happened just after 7:30 p.m. Monday in Broomfield at 156th Avenue and Lipan Street, just west of Interstate 25 and south of E-470.
Investigators say the man driving a white, midsized SUV struck the boy, got out of his car to check for damage and then drove away.
The 2-year-old boy, later identified as Tenzin Chokzin, was airlifted to a hospital, but later died.
A neighbor who is close with the family told CBS4 that the boy's father was out of town on a mission trip and that boy's mother was drawing a bath for the child. The boy's grandmother had gone for a walk.
The boy's mother thought that he was inside the house but he had wandered outside.
The neighbor heard a loud noise, went outside, saw the SUV driver inspect the damage and then drive away. That's when she saw the child lying in the street.
"So I run up the driveway to go grab my phone. I call 911. By the time I get out to the driveway the mom was in the street, just hysterical, with the baby," said neighbor Bonnie Baxter. "Firefighters, ambulance showed up... They took him to St. Anthony's North, they worked on him for 30 minutes or so and he didn't make it."
The family released a statement that reads in part, "... as this loss is unbearable, it gives us an opportunity practice compassion and understand that we are only here for a moment. As a Buddhist family, we forgive the person responsible for our great loss. Please keep our young son in your prayers. Finally, I urge all to be careful when driving."
The Colorado State Patrol tweeted that the driver saw the crash on the news and decided to do the right thing and talk to investigators.
The suspect driver has not been identified but CBS4 has learned the driver is a man in his 60s.
