Longmont – A Fort Collins man who was struck by a car on Tuesday, the day after he was married, has died, and the driver who struck him will face vehicular homicide charges, police said Thursday.
Lee Miller, 28, died late Wednesday at a hospital in Longmont.
A fund for his 2-year-old daughter, Maia Miller, has been set up at Allnutt Funeral Service, 650 W. Drake Road, Fort Collins, CO 80526. Checks may be made out to Maia Leigh Miller, said Katrina Thomas, a spokeswoman for the Miller family.
Lee Miller was visiting his new in-laws and was standing next to his parked car just after 3 p.m. when a woman driving a Fort Taurus north on South Pratt Parkway struck him and pinned him between the two vehicles, Thomas and police reports say.
The driver of the Taurus, Connie Marie Petitt, 56, of Longmont suffered head and facial injuries and was treated at Longmont United Hospital.
Investigators determined Petitt may have been distracted by reaching for something inside the vehicle when she careened into Miller.
Petitt will be charged with vehicular homicide and taken to the Boulder County Jail upon her release from the hospital, police said.
FORT COLLINS
1 arrested in drive-by shooting of girl, 17
Fort Collins police have arrested one man and are seeking a second in the drive-by shooting of a 17-year-old girl Wednesday.
William Baker, 24, of Fort Collins was arrested Thursday morning on a charge of attempted first-degree murder. A warrant has been issued for Joseph Tavarez of Denver on the same charge.
The shooting happened just after 5 p.m. on the 1300 block of Cherry Street.
The girl was hit by a single bullet fired by a male passenger in a purple or maroon, midsized sedan, according to witnesses.
The girl was taken to Poudre Valley Hospital, where she underwent surgery. Police say she is expected to survive.
SEDALIA
Parade tractor driver charged after child hit
The driver of a tractor at Sedalia’s Fourth of July parade was arrested after officers said he ran over a child.
David Curtis, 79, is facing DUI, child abuse and careless-driving charges.
Witnesses said a group of children riding bicycles in the parade and the tractor had started to go the wrong way on the parade route through downtown Sedalia on Wednesday afternoon.
Bystanders began yelling at the driver to stop, but he hit the boy, and one of the tractor’s tires came to rest on his leg.
Volunteers from the crowd were able to move the tire off the boy, but Curtis then drove away, according to investigators.
An officer stopped him about a quarter mile from the accident site. Curtis is free on bond and is scheduled to appear in Douglas County Court on July 31.
HIGHLANDS RANCH
Teen charged after car driven into house
A 17-year-old boy was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and reckless driving after he crashed into the side of house in Highlands Ranch early Thursday.
The teenager, from Highlands Ranch, was released to the custody of his mother.
The crash occurred just before 2 a.m. in the 9300 block of Lark Sparrow Drive.
The teen attempted to walk away from the accident, but was detained by sheriff’s deputies a short distance away, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
He was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries. His name was not released because he is a minor. No one in the house was injured.
FARMINGTON, N.M.
Colorado man held in slaying of companion
A Colorado man is facing an open count of murder in the death of a woman at Navajo Lake State Park.
Jonathan Hunt, 54, of Ignacio was arrested Wednesday, said San Juan County sheriff’s Lt. Tyler Truby. He was being held at the San Juan County Detention Center on $500,000 bail.
The Sheriff’s Office alleged the man killed his female companion, Patricia Pacheco, 56, also of Ignacio, then tried to attack another female camper.
According to sheriff’s reports, witnesses from a campsite said the second woman, who was with a group from Durango, had been sleeping in the back of a car when she was woken up by Hunt, who told her “everyone around her was dead.”
The woman’s screams caught the attention of her male companions, who ran to her aid.
Hunt told the men he was tough, and “did not mean to kill her.” Then he ran away.
The campers gave chase and found Pacheco’s body.
Hunt reappeared and challenged the men to a fight. One of them hit Hunt in the head with a stick, then they tied Hunt’s hands with a rope and held him until deputies arrived.
FORT CARSON
Virginia soldier dies of injuries in Iraq
A Fort Carson soldier died on the Fourth of July from injuries suffered in a grenade attack in Baghdad, the military said Thursday.
Army Pfc. Steven A. Davis, 23, of Woodbridge, Va., was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.
DENVER
Video shows 3 possible witnesses to slaying
Video surveillance in a bar has pinpointed three people who could be key witnesses in a homicide, Denver police say.
Norman Esquibel, 28, was killed outside the bar at West Alameda Avenue and Grove Street at 8:35 p.m. on June 26, said John White, Denver police spokesman.
The three people shown in the video, two men and a woman, could be crucial witnesses in the drive-by shooting, White said.
Homicide detectives also continue to search for a red 1998 Lincoln Navigator, possibly bearing Colorado license plate number “872-KLP,” in Esquibel’s murder.
