Westminster – Another metro-area community was in mourning Monday after a teenager was struck and killed by a sport utility vehicle while walking home.
Lourdes Amaro, a Westminster High School student, died Friday, two days after she was struck while crossing Federal Boulevard with her sister, Federal Heights police said.
Amaro was at least the seventh area pedestrian killed after being hit by a vehicle this month.
Amaro, 16, was walking home from school with her sister eastbound in the crosswalk at West 96th Avenue at about 3:35 p.m. Wednesday.
A Chevrolet Blazer driven by 52-year-old Rickie Dale Goodyear struck her as she was crossing Federal on a green light , police said.
Federal Heights police Lt. Gary Toldness said Goodyear was stopped behind another car on 96th Avenue, which might have obstructed his view of the girls as he turned left to go south on Federal.
Goodyear also told police that the sun was in his eyes, Toldness said.
Police say Goodyear hit the brakes as soon as he saw the girls, but it was too late.
Marcy McNelis, who lives two doors down from the intersection, said she walked outside Wednesday and saw Amaro lying face-down in the street.
“I thought she was dead,” McNelis said.
Amaro was taken to St. Anthony Central Hospital with head injuries and a broken femur. Doctors worked for two days to try to save her.
Toldness said investigators do not consider speed, alcohol or careless driving to be a factor in the accident.
Goodyear is likely to be cited for failure to yield to a pedestrian, Toldness said.
Friends remembered a happy girl who loved to spend time with her sister.
“She always had a beautiful smile,” said Julia Coronado – Loya, a friend of Lourdes’ family. “That’s the first thing you noticed, her smile.”
On Sunday, Amaro’s friends and family put up a memorial on an electrical box near the intersection.
There are teddy bears and a rosary taped to the box, surrounded with pink, red, white and yellow roses. In the center is a piece of yellow posterboard.
Friends have covered it in tributes to the teen such as, “You are an angel” and “You were a very strong person” and “You fought for your life till the end.”
At the very center is a photocopied picture of Amaro and the handwritten words of her family: “We love you always.”
Coronado-Loya said Amaro’s friends will miss her greatly.
“She was a wonderful person; she had a lot of friends,” Coro nado-Loya said. “And they’re working hard to keep her memory alive.”
Staff writer John Ingold can be reached at 720-929-0898 or jingold@denverpost.com.
