AURORA, Colo. — An 11-year-old boy was in the hospital with life-threatening injuries after a drunken driver hit and dragged him and his bike underneath his car, said Aurora Police (APD).
The incident happened about 7:30 p.m. Thursday near North Chambers Road and East 13th Avenue, police said.
APD said their initial investigation showed that the boy was riding his bike on the southbound sidewalk of North Chambers Road when he used the crosswalk to cross 13th Avenue, and a GMC Jimmy SUV that was traveling west struck him.
Police said Hector Eduardo Garcia, 32, was driving the truck. After hitting the boy, he turn right and continued north on Chambers Road, dragging the boy and his bike under the SUV for a "considerable distance" while people yelled and honked for him to stop.
When the driver stopped, witnesses said they watched bystanders lift the car off the child and some women pulled him out from under the truck, police said.
APD arrested the Garcia on suspicion of:
- Vehicular assault
- Driving while under the influence of alcohol
- Driving on a suspended license
- Failing to yield the right of way to a pedestrian
According to an arrest affidavit, one witness told police that he saw Garcia hide a "can of booze of some sort" in the back of vehicle before getting out to assist the boy. The affidavit says Garcia denied this claim.
The affidavit says he did later tell officers that he drank with his coworkers before hitting the boy and "maybe two Smirnoffs." According to the affidavit, Garcia denied being drunk.
Metro Denver Crime Stoppers
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867 or visit metrodenvercrimestoppers.com. Tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.
Metro Denver Crime Stoppers works by assigning a code to people who anonymously submit a tip. Information is shared with law enforcement, and Crime Stoppers is notified at the conclusion of the investigation.
From there, an awards committee reviews the information provided and, if the information leads to an arrest, the tipster will be notified. Rewards can be collected using the code numbers received when the tip was originally submitted.
> More information about Metro Denver Crime Stoppers can be found here.
> Additional Crime Stoppers bulletins can be found here.
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