DENVER — The Colorado State Patrol said Monday that the driver accused of striking and killing a trooper on Interstate 70 late Friday night was in the left lane when the collision occurred.
Col. Matthew Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol, said during a briefing that Trooper William Moden's vehicle, along with a second CSP patrol car, was parked on the right shoulder with their emergency lights on when the male driver of a 1999 Ford F-250, traveling in the left lane, struck and killed Moden, 37.
Packard said Moden was out of his vehicle and on foot when he was struck, but he could not say where Moden was at the time of the collision. Packard said the driver of the Ford pickup is cooperating with their investigation and impairment is not a factor in the crash. The driver, whose name has not been released, has not been charged or cited at this time.
Moden was hit while assisting with a single-vehicle rollover crash that badly injured a woman and a baby. Authorities said the woman in the first incident was traveling at a high rate of speed when she crashed, ejecting the toddler from the vehicle. The child was strapped in a child car seat, but it wasn't securely anchored to the vehicle's seat.
MORE | Ways you can give to help the family of State Trooper William Moden
The 22-year-old woman and the child were airlifted to a Denver hospital where the woman is currently listed in critical but stable condition. The child's condition is unknown, but they are expected to survive. The woman faces charges in the rollover crash.
During Monday's briefing, Packard praised the community for its overwhelming show of support for the agency and Moden's family, whom he had just got done talking with.
He also announced that a public memorial will be held Friday at 11 a.m. at Denver First Church, 3800 East Hampden Avenue.
