DENVER
AIG wants to pursue suit against minister
A life-insurance company that has filed a lawsuit against a Denver minister accused of filing fraudulent life-insurance claims on behalf of parishioners wants the case to continue, saying the possibility that the minister may face criminal charges does not affect the civil case.
AIG Life Insurance Co. filed a civil suit in March accusing Acen L. Phillips and his affiliated church groups of providing life-insurance policies to a group of 316 people, but arranging for any payouts to go to him and his collaborators.
He has been the subject of investigations by the Colorado attorney general and the U.S. attorney for Denver, but no charges have been filed. Phillips’ lawyers filed a motion in U.S. District Court asking that the civil case be stopped until the criminal matter was settled.
Phillips’ attorney, Gary Lozow, did not immediately return a message seeking further comment. AIG seeks the return of at least $400,000. Before the lawsuit was filed, Lozow had said the minister denied wrongdoing.
AURORA
Hit-and-run suspect faces DUI charges
A man who slammed his Cadillac into a motorcyclist in Aurora and fled was arrested Friday night, a few miles away from the crash, police said.
Michael Chambers, 20, faces charges of vehicular assault, hit-and-run, reckless driving, and DUI in the collision near East Florida Avenue and South Chambers Road. The motorcycle was carried about 500 feet before the two vehicles separated, authorities said.
Michael Lewis, 48, was hospitalized with serious head injuries Friday night.
“They are not determined at this time to be life-threatening,” said Lt. Bruce Smith of the Aurora Police Department.
CHEYENNE
Littleton girl killed, four injured in crash
A 13-year-old girl from Littleton was killed and four people injured when a pickup truck crashed on the way back from a church group’s camping trip.
The pickup drove off Interstate 80 and landed upside down on an embankment at an overpass Friday afternoon, according to the Wyoming Highway Patrol.
Inside the Ford pickup, which was pulling a utility trailer, were two adult Littleton church-group members, along with a 12-year-old girl and two other girls, ages 13 and 14.
Morgan Buchli, 13, died in the crash. Other victims were flown to The Children’s Hospital in Denver. A woman was taken to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center with a fractured spine, and a man was taken to that hospital for observation.
DENVER
New child insurance application simpler
A simplified version of Colorado’s application for public health insurance for children will debut today, state officials say.
The existing application for the Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) and Medicaid had long been criticized as hard to understand.
In addition to being “cleaner, less bureaucratic and not as intimidating,” the new application is lighter weight, so it won’t cost as much to mail in, said Joanne Lindsay, a Health Care Policy and Financing department spokeswoman.
FORT CARSON
Iraq combat soldiers get free eye surgery
An Army eye clinic that offers free laser eye surgery to soldiers will give highest priority to special forces groups and other units most likely to go to combat in Iraq, according to a published report.
The LASIK or photorefractive surgery must be done at least 90 days before a soldier deploys, the Fort Carson Mountaineer reported, quoting military medical officials at Fort Carson.
“Right now we do 500 per year. Hopefully, we will triple that amount,” said Mike Ives, eye clinic supervisor at Evans Army Community Hospital. “If soldiers wear glasses that get knocked off or lost during patrol, they can be in trouble.”
The nearby Air Force Academy eye clinic recently became the first in the services to perform LASIK surgery and allow pilots who had undergone it to fly.
DENVER
Fatal crash causes 3-hour delay on I-25
A fatal motorcycle crash closed all northbound lanes of Interstate 25 at the Santa Fe exit for about three hours Saturday afternoon, the Colorado Department of Transportation said.
Traffic was backed up about 3 miles and the jam caused a “curiosity slowdown” on the southbound side, said Paul Peterson, CDOT spokesman.
Traffic was routed mostly to the Alameda exit, Peterson said at 3 p.m. The lanes re-opened about 4:30 p.m.
