A man was killed Tuesday night in Aurora when he was thrown from a car that jumped a sidewalk and crashed into a light pole.
The fatal crash happened at about 10:10 p.m. near the intersection of East Kentucky Avenue and South Buckley Road, according to the Aurora Police Department.
The victim was the second person in Aurora to die Tuesday in a traffic incident.
Police initially thought the dead man was a pedestrian that had been struck when a silver 2010 Chevrolet Impala was southbound on Buckley approaching the intersection with Kentucky when the car jumped the curb, ran up onto the sidewalk and hit a light pole.
They now say the man, identified as Faison Eriven, 19, of Denver, was a passenger in the rear seat who was thrown from the car.
Two other men got out of the car and ran away.
One man, later determined to be the driver, was caught in a neighborhood just west of the crash.
The Eriven was taken to a local hospital where he died, police said. None of the three men in the car had been wearing seat belts.
Police identified the driver as Alufundi Jolaoso, 21, of Aurora. He has been arrested on suspicion of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and careless driving resulting in death.
The other passenger, Tulanda Fuka, 22, also of Aurora, was held on unrelated charges, police said.
Police said witnesses at the scene of the crash were friends of the three men in the Impala and they gave false information to investigators in “an apparent effort to protect their friends.”
The fatal crash remains under investigation and more criminal charges may be filed, police said.
Earlier on Tuesday a woman died after she was hit by an SUV in Aurora.
The woman, a pedestrian, was struck at about 6 a.m. Tuesday near the intersection of East Iliff Avenue and South Havana Street, said Cassidee Carlson, an Aurora Police Department spokeswoman.
Police said a 1998 white Chevrolet TrailBlazer was northbound on Havana in the center lane and the driver went through a green light at Iliff, where the SUV hit the pedestrian.
Police said the driver did not see the woman, who was wearing dark clothing, until just before impact.
The victim was taken to a local hospital where she died. The investigation into the accident is ongoing, police said. The victim’s name has not been released.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
