As Berdie Friedman lay injured in the street after she was hit by a truck, a motorist loaned her his cellphone to call her husband.
The stranger’s phone number was captured in Harry Friedman’s cellphone, and Harry called the man the next day to thank him for helping Berdie.
But police say the motorist with the cellphone might have had more involvement in the case than just providing the phone.
Denver detectives used the number to find and arrest 50-year-old Pablo Alcala on Monday in connection with hitting pedestrian Berdie Friedman, 79, and leaving the scene of the Oct. 17 accident.
Alcala has a lengthy history of traffic violations, including a prior hit-and-run case from 2004, according to police and court records.
Friedman suffered broken ribs, broken bones in her leg and severe internal bleeding when she was hit at West Colfax Avenue and Quitman Street. She died from her injuries Oct. 30.
Denver police Detective Ken Briggle confirmed he tracked Alcala through a telephone call that was placed to Friedman’s husband after the accident.
Berdie Friedman was still conscious when she used Alcala’s phone to call her husband and tell him she was injured, Harry Friedman said.
Harry Friedman rushed to the scene and said he thought Alcala appeared like a “nervous cat” while trying to explain to a firefighter how he helped Berdie to a nearby bus stop.
But Friedman says he did not think Alcala was the person who police now suspect hit his wife.
“I called him and he answered and said, ‘I am the one who helped your wife,’ and told him I wanted to thank him for all the help and possibly endangering his life,” Friedman said.
Alcala was booked into Denver City Jail on suspicion of leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in death, aggravated driving with a revoked license and careless driving resulting in death. Bail was set at $20,000.
Colorado Bureau of Investigation records show Alcala is a habitual traffic offender.
Alcala was arrested after a hit-and-run accident at York Street and East Sixth Avenue in Denver in February 2004, records show. He was sentenced to 90 days of electronic monitoring in that case after he was found guilty of driving under restraint with a prior alcohol-related offense on his record.
In 1996, Alcala was arrested for driving under the influence, Adams County court records show, but he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of driving while impaired.
Another arrest for careless driving followed in June 2004 at East Colfax Avenue and Xenia Street. Alcala was sentenced to 120 days of electronic monitoring after pleading guilty to driving under restraint, records show.
“I would prefer certainly to see justice done … but if he had had a history like that, they are in a position to know what kind of sentence and see to it that it is carried out,” Harry Friedman said. “I’m certainly glad he’s in the hands of the law.”
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
