1 dead, several others hurt in hit & run in Jeffco early Sunday morning
One person was killed and several others hurt in a hit-and-run in Jefferson County early Sunday morning. Three suspects were taken into custody.
According to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, it began with an altercation between two groups outside the Rock Rest Lodge Bar & Grill located at 16005 Mt. Vernon Road. Bouncers and staff separated the two groups and led one toward the back of the restaurant where they were standing either on or next to Mt. Vernon Road.
Three males from the other group got into their white Chevy Silverado, and authorities said that Ruben Marquez backed out of the parking space at the front of the restaurant and apparently intentionally drove into the other group that was standing on Mt. Vernon Road.
"I came to close the gate and that's when the truck started hitting everybody," said Julio Ricardo Gonzales, who lives nearby. "It flew this car, and the guy was laying right there dead."
Investigators said that Marquez struck at least seven people, including restaurant employees.
"It was traumatic, it was insanity, it was something out of a movie in a weird, sick, twisted way," said Eric Sauer.
"You could feel the pain, everybody was screaming, the brother of the guy who died. It was just sad," said Jennifer Zamarripa.
That truck was seen in the area by a responding Jeffco Sheriff's deputy. With assistance from the Colorado State Patrol, the truck was stopped and the driver and two male passengers were taken into custody. The driver has been identified as Marquez, 29. He faces charges of first-degree murder, first-degree assault and second-degree assault.
The registered owner of the vehicle is Ernesto DeJesus Avila, 25. He was a passenger at the time and is facing charges of accessory to first-degree murder, accessory to first-degree assault and accessory to second-degree assault. The other passenger is not facing charges.
"It's just not right now matter what happened," Zamarripa said. "You could be fighting, but you don't need to lose your life over something little."
One person was declared dead at the scene and four others were rushed to the hospital with serious injuries. Three people had minor injuries and were not taken to the hospital but remained at the scene as part of the investigation.
"Our investigators are speaking to victims and to witnesses this morning," said Jeffco Sheriff spokesperson Jenny Fulton. "I've been here six years and we've never had anything like this."
Rock Rest Lodge posted on its Facebook page that it will be closed on Sunday.
