A man who allegedly stole a “puffer” and then crashed the stolen car in front of a middle school, has died of his injuries.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office identified the deceased suspect as 24-year-old Anthony Nathan Garcia.
The car theft and crash happened Friday in Highlands Ranch.
Garcia was pronounced dead at about 4:10 a.m. Saturday at Littleton Adventist Hospital, the sheriff’s office said in a media release.
An official ruling on his death is pending autopsy results of the Douglas County Coroner’s Office.
The vehicle theft was reported about 6:30 a.m. Friday from the driveway of a Highlands Ranch home, where the vehicle was running unattended, the type of theft known by police as a “puffer.”
Deputies spotted the vehicle near University Boulevard and Highlands Ranch Parkway but ended their pursuit because of slick roads and heavy traffic.
The crash happened a short time later in front of Rocky Heights Middle School, 11033 Monarch Blvd., the sheriff’s office said.
The stolen vehicle collided with another vehicle outside the school. A woman driving the second vehicle received “minor injuries,” and a boy in the car was not hurt.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
