Electrician Timothy Albo did everything right Saturday night, say family members now posted by his hospital bed at Denver Health waiting for the 26-year-old to awake from a coma.
Albo, of Thornton, parked his car at a friend’s Lower Downtown apartment before hitting the town with some friends. He walked everywhere and planned to spend the night downtown, his brother said.
But as the bars let out about 2 a.m. Sunday, authorities said, a dark-colored SUV never stopped after colliding with Albo and a female friend as they crossed 20th Street.
Speaking for his tearful family, older brother Rodney Albo pleaded Sunday afternoon with the public for help identifying the driver.
“It’s been really hard for all of us. We know how we were raised, and we don’t understand” how the driver could leave the scene, Rodney Albo said. “We just want to know. We just want someone to come forward and do the right thing.”
Rodney Albo asked anyone who witnessed the hit-and-run or notices a dark SUV with new body damage to the front end or windshield to call the Denver Police Department.
Timothy Albo, the youngest sibling in a tightknit family, is listed in critical condition. He suffered a serious head wound and slipped into a coma, his brother said. Authorities declined to identify the second victim, who remains in serious condition.
The SUV was last seen traveling westbound on 20th Street, said police spokesman Sonny Jackson.
He said it’s not yet clear whether the sport utility vehicle ran a red light, but the driver committed a crime as soon as he or she fled.
Jackson declined to go into greater detail about evidence possibly recovered at the scene but said investigators are hopeful that security cameras in the area may have recorded the collision.
About 100 relatives and friends gathered at Denver Health to pray for the recovery of Timothy Albo, expected to undergo an operation to repair damage to his head Sunday afternoon.
At a news conference just before the surgery, Rodney Albo — flanked by his parents, wife and siblings — described his brother as a young man “well on his way to doing some great things” and “an awesome kid.”
Jessica Fender: 303-954-1244 or jfender@denverpost.com
