The driver of a semi that vaulted off Interstate 25 and critically injured another driver on East Belleview Avenue below could be charged for the semi’s having faulty brakes, police said.
Antonio Rodriguez, 55, was unable to slow with the flow of traffic on the interstate Saturday shortly before 11 a.m., said Greenwood Village police officer Sarah Malafronte. The semi, traveling in the third of five lanes of I-25, crossed two lanes and the shoulder, where it hit a concrete barrier, drove up over the barrier and fell 16 feet off the bridge. The truck landed on a Lexus driven by 78-year-old Sydney Levin, Malafronte said.
“He could be charged with careless driving resulting in serious bodily injury,” Malafronte said of Rodriguez. “It’s his responsibility to make sure his truck’s in good working order before he climbs in and starts driving.”
Levin, a co-owner of the Buckhorn Exchange restaurant in Denver, remains in critical condition at Swedish Medical Center.
Monday afternoon, co- workers at the restaurant expressed their concern. “We’re praying a lot,” said Buckhorn manager Renell Johnson.
General manager Bill Dutton, a partner in the restaurant with Levin since 1978, called him “one of the nicest and funniest guys you could meet.”
A family man with children and grandchildren, Dutton said, Levin is “one of the brightest lights of the Buckhorn. We’re very, very concerned for him. … He was running an errand, parked at a red light. It’s like getting struck by lightning. It’s horrible.”
While a total of six cars were damaged in the accident, either by the semi or by falling concrete, Malafronte said, no one else was seriously injured. Rodriguez, who was treated and released from Swedish Medical Center, could not be reached for comment Monday. Malafronte said there was no indication drugs or alcohol was involved. And police said the driver appeared to be going within the 55-mph speed limit.
The owner of the trucking company that employs Rodriguez, Luis Sandoval of S&S Trucking of Commerce City, declined to speak directly with a reporter Monday, instead giving a statement through an employee.
“He went over the side because traffic was slowing down and someone slipped in front of him,” S&S employee Diane Pierce said of Rodriguez, adding that he possesses a Class A commercial driver’s license.
Staff researcher Barry Osborne contributed to this report.
Staff writer Amy Herdy can be reached at 303-820-1752 or aherdy@denverpost.com.
