A 60-year-old bicyclist died Sunday morning in north Boulder after a driver turned in front of him, investigators said.
The accident happened at about 11:45 a.m. at the intersection of 28th Street and Violet Avenue, said Sgt. John Hahn, a Colorado State Patrol spokesman.
Casey E. Najera of Boulder died in the accident, according to the Boulder County Coroner’s Office.
Najera was riding his bicycle eastbound when the driver of a westbound 2001 Toyota Corolla turned left in front of him, Hahn said. Najera, who was wearing a helmet, hit the car and was thrown from his bike.
He was taken to Boulder Community Hospital, where he died.
The driver of the car, Karlin Bruegel, 25, of Lafayette, was cited with careless driving resulting in death, Hahn said. Bruegel “didn’t see the bicyclist. It’s very tragic.”
Najera is survived by two daughters, Leora and Lindsay.
“He could talk to anybody about anything,” Leora Najera-Anderson said.
Najera-Anderson said that her father enjoyed all the arts, history and many outdoor activities. He owned Rocky Mountain Paint and Body Inc. in Longmont for 30 years.
Najera survived pancreatic cancer and had been living cancer free for four years, she said.
“He touched a lot of lives in many different ways,” Najera-Anderson said.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
