A high school senior who died in a skateboarding fall while hanging on to a moving sport utility vehicle was run over by the Jeep, police confirmed Monday.
John Nicolette, 18, a Heritage High School student, died Thursday near the school at the intersection of South Windermere Street and West Meadowbrook Road.
“He lost control of the skateboard and he fell under the car as he was falling,” said Sgt. Trent Cooper, a spokesman with Littleton police.
The accident is still under investigation and police said they have not decided whether to purse charges against Colin McEuen, the 18-year-old driver of the Jeep.
AURORA
Victim, suspect ID’d in separate shootings
Police have identified a victim in one shooting last week and a suspect in a separate shooting.
A man shot multiple times Thursday at Montview Park has been identified as Christian Lavelle Felder, 20, of Denver, according to a police news release.
Police say Felder was a gang member, but they do not know whether the shooting was gang-related. Authorities have not identified a suspect in Felder’s death.
Also, Parish Deshawn Washington, 20, is wanted on an arrest warrant for first-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting Friday of Molicia Nunn, according to the police release.
Nunn, 40, was shot in an apartment hallway in the 1900 block of Del Mar Parkway, police said.
DENVER
Teacher, partner climb Mount Everest
Denver mountaineer Mike Haugen, 30, and his longtime climbing partner, Casey Grom, successfully reached the summit of Mount Everest on Sunday morning, according to a message posted on the expedition’s website Monday.
Haugen, a science teacher at Kepner Middle School, and other members of his party left from the South Col about 9:30 p.m. Saturday local time and arrived on top of the 29,035-foot peak about 6:40 a.m. Sunday.
They had spent more than a month on the mountain after arriving in Nepal on March 21.
Details on the expedition are available at colemaneverest.com.
DENVER
Bicyclist critical after falling at Chatfield
A 53-year-old bicyclist who was hurt in a fall in Chatfield State Park was listed in critical condition Monday at Swedish Medical Center.
Susanne DeGeus of Denver was riding about 25 mph when she hit a culvert and fell off her bike, Douglas County sheriff’s officials said.
She was flown to the hospital for treatment after the accident, which happened about 4:15 p.m. Sunday. She had been wearing a helmet, officials said.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK
Ribbon event to open Trail Ridge Road
The annual spring opening of Trail Ridge Road is set for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday at the Rocky Mountain National Park Alpine Visitor Center.
Trail Ridge Road, which reaches 12,183 feet at its peak, covers 48 miles between Estes Park on the park’s east side and Grand Lake on the west.
Eleven miles of the highway that opened 75 years ago is above tree line.
The mayors of Grand Lake and Estes Park will attend the ribbon-cutting event.
BOULDER
Polis joins race for Udall’s House seat
Internet entrepreneur Jared Polis announced Monday that he will run for Congress, setting up a tough 2nd District race among Democrats.
Polis, a Boulder native and former chairman of the state board of education, will go up against state Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, D-Jefferson County, and Will Shafroth, executive director of the Colorado Conservation Trust.
The three Democrats are vying for the seat being vacated by Mark Udall, who is running for the U.S. Senate.
Polis said he would focus on public education, affordable health care, the environment and “a national commitment to eliminate the vicious cycle of poverty.
“We must end the war in Iraq so we can focus on combating poverty and discrimination and growing a more inclusive and sustainable economy here at home,” he said.
PALISADE
Body found during search for rafter
Search teams in Mesa County recovered a body Monday during efforts to find a man who disappeared while rafting with his girlfriend over the weekend.
Authorities found the body in the Colorado River between Palisade and Clifton just before 11 a.m.
Officials were awaiting positive identification to determine whether the body was that of Ricky Crewse.
Crewse, 29, had gone rafting with his girlfriend and her two children Saturday evening when their inflatable rafts capsized near a diversion dam in Palisade.
The woman and children made it to a riverbank and could see Crewse still holding on to his raft, but he was no longer visible when rescuers arrived.
Crewse’s empty raft was found Sunday near Palisade High School.
He was not wearing a life preserver.
FLORENCE
Eighth-grader with gun faces expulsion
An eighth-grader faces possible expulsion after allegedly taking a loaded gun to school.
School officials found the weapon in the student’s backpack at Fremont Middle School on Friday after a tip from another student, Florence school Superintendent John Merriam said.
The student who brought the gun was afraid of another student who had been suspended after allegedly making threats, Merriam said.
The student who brought the gun “is not a kid we would identify as a problem,” Merriam said. “He made a poor decision, and he’s going to have to pay the price.”
Colorado law requires that students be expelled if they bring a weapon.
