A 25-year-old woman died in a single-vehicle crash in Aurora last night.
The victim, Tanya Sanders, was a passenger in a 1997 Kia Sportage that hit a curb, slid and rolled, throwing her from the SUV, according to the Aurora Police Department. Sanders died at the scene.
The crash happened at about 9:20 p.m. in the 800 block of South Blackhawk Street. Investigators suspect alcohol was a contributing factor.
Sanders recently graduated from the Denver School of Massage Therapy and was out celebrating, police and friends said.
“She was really a good person,” said friend Kinjel Desai. “When anyone was down, she always tried to crack jokes and cheer people up. She always tried to find the humor in life.”
Sanders graduated in 2007 from East Carolina University, Desai said, where they had met two years earlier.
After graduating with a master’s in public health, Sanders came west to attend the massage school, Desai said.
Desai, who lives in North Carolina, learned about her friend’s death through Facebook postings, she said.
The driver, Kimberly Meza, 25, and another passenger, Kelsey Hamilton, 19, were treated for minor injuries at a local hospital.
Meza was arrested and held on suspicion of careless driving, driving under the influence and vehicular homicide, police said.
Bail has been set at $50,000, police said.
A blood sample was taken from the driver as part of the investigation. Police are awaiting test results.
All three women are from Aurora and attended the massage school, police said.
Sanders was not wearing a seat belt, police said.
Thursday night’s crash is the second fatal traffic incident this year in Aurora, police said.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
