Aurora officers found a gun with an extended magazine in the stolen car after the wreck.
AURORA, Colo. — A 17-year-old boy is being held on suspicion of second-degree murder and other charges after a carjacking and police chase that ended in a deadly crash in Aurora.
The boy’s name has not been made public because of his age, and authorities have not confirmed the name of the man who died in the crash Sunday evening.
It began at 7:04 p.m., when a man called 911 to report he had been carjacked of his 2007 Jeep Cherokee near East 17th Avenue and Clinton Street, according to Aurora police spokesman Joe Moylan.
At 7:13 p.m., Aurora police officers located the stolen Cherokee near the intersection of Dallas Street and 25th Avenue, turned on their lights and sirens and tried to stop the vehicle. The Jeep’s driver sped off, with the officers in pursuit.
Moylan said the pursuit was authorized given the “violent nature” of the auto theft. It lasted about four blocks – as the Jeep headed south on Dayton Street near 19th Avenue, the driver hit a speed bump and lost control, careening into three cars parked along the road, then slamming into a small SUV that was occupied.
The driver of that vehicle died.
The man’s roommate, who asked that his name not be used, said the victim was parking his vehicle when the Cherokee smashed into it.
The impact shoved the man’s car through a neighbor’s fence and into a front yard.
The roommate said he heard the impact, which he described as “boom.”
Then he and others rushed outside and saw the aftermath – his roommate and friend trapped in his car, dying.
The man said they are both from Nicaragua and had been working construction jobs in Colorado for the past several years.
“We got talking yesterday about what was our project for today, what we were going to do,” the man said. “We were making plans for this summer. Make money. Work.”
Moylan said the suspect was treated at a hospital for unspecified injuries. He was then booked into jail on suspicion of second-degree murder, aggravated robbery and vehicular eluding causing death.
A search of the stolen Cherokee led to the discovery of a gun with an extended magazine.
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