A 65-year-old Pueblo woman died when a vehicle crashed into her as she tried to catch a stray dog on Saturday, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
Beverly Dietz was walking in the eastbound right-hand lane of state Highway 50 in Pueblo attempting to catch the stray at 6:32 p.m. when she was hit by a Toyota Camry travelling east in the same lane.
“It was a dog that somebody had abandoned in the intersection,” said Dietz’ son Jason McCandless, 38.
McCandless and another man also tried to corral the dog. Cars were whizzing by, he said, but no one was hit until his mother stepped into the street.
“She would help anybody out, always. That was what she did,” McCandless said.
The Pueblo County coroner pronounced Dietz dead at the scene.
Wiliam Anaya, 62, the driver of the Toyota, wasn’t injured.
McCandless said people frequently leave dogs to fend for themselves near the intersection. “I don’t have the fingers to count the number of dogs abandoned out here. You don’t have to be an expert to look at the dog and see that it was terrified.”
Neither alcohol nor sped is considered a factor in the crash, which remains under investigation.
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671, tmcghee@denverpost.com or
