- Jun 24:
- Aurora man killed by RTD bus was drunk
- Apr 14:
- RTD bus driver charged in death of Lafayette cafe owner
- Apr 11:
- RTD officials puzzled by rash of fatal accidents
- Apr 9:
- Life lost, dream doused in Lafayette RTD crash
- Apr 8:
- 4th death in RTD crashes
- Apr 7:
- Bus driver in fatal RTD crash faces 13 misdemeanor charges
- Cyclist, RTD bus collide in Lafayette
- Apr 6:
- RTD contract driver faces 13 charges
- Denver bus crash cut young couple's lifelong plans short
- Pedestrian killed by RTD bus in Aurora
- Clues sought in Saturday's RTD bus crash
- Apr 4:
- RTD crash in Denver claims second victim
- Apr 3:
- RTD crash leaves one dead, 15 injured
- Jan 20:
- RTD bus runs light, hits 3 three cars
The two people killed when an RTD bus ran a red light and hit their vehicle died from the impact of the collision, the Denver coroner's office said this morning.
The driver of the Volkswagen 2007 Rabbit, identified as Dustin Peletier, died of closed-head injuries secondary to the collision, said a statement from Michelle Weiss-Samaras of the coroner's office.
The passenger in the Rabbit, identified as Carla Miranda, died of multiple blunt force injuries secondary to the collision, the release said.
Both Peletier and Miranda were 29 and lived in Denver, according to the coroner's office.
Their 2007 Volkswagen Rabbit was traveling west on East Eighth Avenue just before 5 p.m. Saturday when the RTD bus traveling north on Lincoln Street plowed into their car.
The bus then hit a 1996 Ford pickup truck and pushed it into a steel pole in a parking lot.
The driver of the pickup remains hospitalized in serious condition.
At least 11 other people, including the bus driver, were injured in the accident, and four remained in serious condition Sunday. Several were bus passengers.
The bus driver remains hospitalized. Police are not releasing her name.
Denver police spokesman Matt Murray said today that Denver police are writing search warrants - some seeking to obtain video from security cameras from businesses near the intersection.
Murray said that the cameras may have caught the accident on tape. He declined to say if search warrants are being sought for the bus driver's residence.
In addition, he said a commercial transportation expert from the Colorado State Patrol is being brought in to inspect the bus and the accident scene. Murray said the expert will write a report which will be part of the case file presented to the Denver district attorney's office.
Murray said the police department will not release the name of the bus driver until a decision is made by the district attorney's
On Saturday, witness Keith Napodano, who was driving behind the bus, said he saw the bus "punch through the red light."
Denver Police spokesman Sonny Jackson on Monday confirmed witness accounts.
"It appears, based on the evidence and accounts we've received from witnesses, that the bus driver ran a red light," he said.
Eric Hoelter, who lives nearby, was near the intersection when he heard the crash.
When he looked toward the sound of the crash, he saw the bus pushing the pickup, he said during an interview today .
As he ran toward the bus and pickup, he said he saw gasoline pouring from the pickup's ruptured gas tank and saw the driver of the pickup getting out of the vehicle.
He then heard a woman - who he believed to be the bus driver - screaming inside the bus. He also saw more than a dozen passengers trying to get out of the bus.
Hoelter said the bus door was jammed. With the help of another man, he was able to open the door.
He said that the passengers, many obviously hurt, rushed out of the bus.
"One guy was holding his teeth," Hoelter said of one of the injured.
Hoelter said he and the other man who had opened the door yelled at the passengers to get away from the bus because of the possibility of a gasoline explosion.
"I'm yelling at the people. I had gasoline under my feet," said Hoelter, a financial planner for Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.
Hoelter said two men inside the bus, both passengers, carried the driver from the bus.
The bus driver involved in Saturday's accident doesn't work for RTD, but is a longtime employee of Veolia Transportation, a company that contracts to run some RTD buses.
On Jan. 20, an RTD bus driven by Veolia employee Duane Henry ran a red light at Florida Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard, resulting in a multi-car pileup sending several patients to area hospitals.
Henry, 61, was ticketed for failing to stop for a "steady red light" said Lakewood police spokesman Steve Davis.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
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