Three recent fatal crashes in Longmont were caused by a variety of factors including ignoring the rules of the road and not adhering to safety standards, Deputy Police Chief Jeff Satur said recently.
“All of these cases are tragic and have significantly impacted everyone involved,” Satur stated in a news release that revealed the outcomes of the Longmont Department of Public Safety Traffic Unit investigation into the three fatalties.
“Momentary distractions of any kind can have deadly results,” Satur stated in the news release. “We all need to be mindful of and courteous to one another.”
Drivers, he said, need to follow traffic control signals for both vehicles and pedestrians, yield the right of way when appropriate and wear a seatbelt or bicycle helmet.
Speeding, impatience, left turns in front of traffic, disregarding a sign or signal, impaired driving and aggressive driving are all, in general, the usual reasons behind a vehicle crash in Longmont, Satur said in an email.
Topping the list, however, are drivers who follow too closely and are inattentive or distracted, Satur said.
Distracted driving — texting, looking after children or pets, talking on the phone or to a passenger, watching videos, eating or reading — is a problem across the state, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
As many as 15,285 crashes on Colorado roads in 2018 involved a distracted driver and 59 deaths were attributed to distracted driving, according to CDOT.
Investigations into the recent fatal crashes in Longmont found:
- On Sept. 25, a Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by a 27-year-old woman from Longmont was traveling westbound in the left turn lane on Ken Pratt Boulevard at Zlaten Drive turned in front of a Ford F350 pickup driven by a 33-year-old man from Denver that was traveling eastbound on Ken Pratt. The F350, which was towing a trailer, struck the passenger side of the Jeep, killing the front seat passenger. The Jeep went airborne, striking another vehicle on Zlaten, and the F350 struck another vehicle that was stopped on Zlaten at Ken Pratt, and then hit the signal pole. The collision with the pole killed the truck’s rear seat passenger, who was not wearing a seatbelt. The driver of the Jeep has been charged with two counts of careless driving resulting in death. Other charges included careless driving resulting in injury, failing to yield right of way, and not wearing a seatbelt. The crash involved five vehicles, and in addition to the two people killed, four were injured, according to the news release.
- The night of Oct 12, a 58-year-old man from Longmont was crossing Main Street mid-block between Ninth and Tenth avenues. A Toyota 4Runner driven by a 27-year-old woman from Berthoud turned onto Main from eastbound Ninth Avenue and struck and killed the man in the left lane of Main Street. Alcohol and speed were not suspected as contributing factors for the driver of the 4Runner, however, alcohol intoxication was later confirmed as a factor for the pedestrian. The man who died was wearing dark clothing and had entered the roadway from the driver’s side and was moving diagonally.No charges were filed against the driver, according to the news release.
- On Nov 2, a bicyclist was killed after suddenly turning into the path of a Toyota pickup. The cyclist was riding eastbound along Ninth Avenue between Pace Street and Deerwood Drive, most likely on the sidewalk or far-right shoulder of the roadway, before the crash, according to the news release. The Toyota driver tried evasive action, however, the truck and cyclist collided in a sideswipe fashion and the bicyclist fell to the ground, suffering a fatal head injury, according to the news release. The bicyclist was not wearing a helmet, according to the news release. No charges were filed against the driver.
