DENVER – A 93-year-old man died in a crash in Longmont Thursday morning after police tried to pull over a suspected stolen pickup truck that fled the scene, Longmont police said.
According to Longmont Public Safety spokesperson Robin Ericson, the crash happened at 10:48 a.m. Thursday at the intersection of 9th Ave. and Pace Street.
An officer tried to pull over a driver who was allegedly in a stolen car when the driver fled and hit another vehicle driven by the 93-year-old man at 9th and Pace. Ericson said officers were not pursuing the vehicle at the time, and Deputy Chief Jeff Satur said officers disengaged from a pursuit.
Satur said the suspect, who was driving a white 2014 Toyota Tacoma at a high rate of speed, broadsided the driver who died in his 2008 Hyundai Sante Fe. The Santa Fe also hit a 2016 Subaru Impreza that was northbound in the area. Two people were injured in Impreza, Satur said. A passenger in the suspected stolen pickup was also hospitalized, Satur said.
The driver of the stolen vehicle is 37 years old and his passenger was a 36-year-old woman, Satur said. The other two people who were injured were a 63-year-old man who was a ride-share driver, and a 19-year-old woman who was his passenger.
Satur said police and prosecutors would pursue criminal charges against the driver who was in the alleged stolen pickup once he is released from a hospital. He is likely to face, at a minimum, vehicular homicide. Satur said it's possible he may also be charged with first-degree murder.
The intersection remained closed until 7 p.m. Thursday.
Thursday night, the Longmont police and SWAT were in the process of serving a high-risk search warrant at 10 9th Ave. officials said was "loosely connected" with the deadly crash as part of their ongoing investigation. The department said the suspect and pickup were seen at the mobile home park prior to police attempting to pull the man over. No further information was immediately available.
