Two people who died after being pulled by firefighters from a car that plunged into a retention pond in Englewood have been identified.
Bryon Thompson, 27, and Alyssa Cutting, 23, both of Denver, died Saturday, according to a media release from the Englewood Fire Department.
The two were taken to Swedish Medical Center after their Subaru plunged into the water at high speed about 1:45 a.m. Saturday.
When firefighters arrived, after Englewood dispatch received a 911 call about the accident, the car was submerged in the pond.
The Subaru was heading west on Hampden Avenue when the driver lost control and the car careened into the pond just west of Broadway and north of Hampden, authorities said.
The car flipped and landed upside down in the water, which is from 4 to 5 1/2 feet deep, said Jason Hehn, spokesman for the Englewood Fire Department.
Only one of the rear tires and bumper were visible when first responders arrived, Hehn said.
Firefighters and paramedics at a station at 555 W. Jefferson St., a few blocks away, responded within minutes, said Brad Johnson, spokesman for the Englewood Police Department.
Two firefighters dove into the water and pulled the victims, who were not breathing, out of the car through windows.
“The (firefighters) got in there and took care of business right away,” Johnson said. “They got people out of the Subaru and out of the pond onto the bank. They did a heck of a job.”
The South Metro Fire Department’s Dive Team was called to the scene and helped remove the vehicle from the pond.
While police were diverting traffic in the area because of the crash, another driver slammed into a police car and fled.
Johnson said police caught a male suspect in the hit and run and believe he may have been drinking and driving. Neither the officer nor the suspect was seriously injured in the later incident.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
