Aurora police chief responds to Colorado carjacking, pursuit and deadly crash: "Tragic"
A 17-year-old from Aurora is facing several felony charges for an armed carjacking and fatal crash in Aurora Sunday night. It is yet another example of violent youth crime in the city, and the police chief calls it "tragic."
"What was a 17-year-old thinking when he felt like this is the thing I'm going to do today, 'I'm going to steal this car and I'm going to use a gun to steal the car, and then I'm going to run when the police try to stop me,'" said Aurora Police Chief Heather Morris. "That's tragic in itself, this entire incident is tragic, and we can't lose sight of that."
It was just about 7 p.m. Sunday, March 17 when a man reported to Aurora police that he was the victim of an armed carjacking. Within about 10 minutes, the chief said, an officer located the stolen vehicle speeding near the intersection of Dallas Street and East 25th Avenue. Using lights and sirens, the officer tried to stop the suspect, but the driver didn't comply. Given the violent nature of the offense, a pursuit was authorized, and two other officers joined in for the four-block chase. It ended just about one minute later when the suspect hit a speed bump in the 1900 block of Dayton Street, lost control and struck several parked cars including one with a man inside.
"I agree with the decision to authorize the pursuit," Morris told CBS News Colorado's Kelly Werthmann. "What was important in this case is the timing. This was a vehicle that was taken, a gun was used, and the time proximity in which that occurred before the vehicle was spotted."
Though the pursuit was brief, it was long enough for the speeding suspect to collide with an occupied car, killing 24-year-old Oliver Gongora.
"It's sad and unfortunate that not only did that man lose his life, but because it happened in front of where he lived and his family was right there, they had to see that," Morris said.
CBS News Colorado spoke with the victim's friend and roommate about what happened. They said Gongora would often sit in his car to call his family, which is what they believe he was doing when he was hit. His roommate also shared frustration over how long Gongora was left in the mangled car – more than six hours after the crash.
"Finally, at like 2 a.m., they removed his body," said his roommate Terry, who didn't want to be identified with his full name. "We couldn't see him."
Morris said she also visited with the victim's friends and family after the deadly crash.
"Knowing the timeline, do you think there was anything that could've been done to save that man's life?" Werthmann asked.
"I was on the scene for several hours, but it was after the fact," the chief replied. "I do know that anything that could've been done, would've been done. Our officers are trained in first aid and it's something they do very well- render aid when they're able to do so. I do know that our EMS folks were out there, but it was just a situation in which there was nothing they could do at that time."
Morris explained this case is complex and has a multi-layered investigation. Along with the Major Crimes Homicide Unity leading the carjacking and homicide investigation, the 17th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) is conducting an independent investigation into the circumstances leading up to the crash and whether law enforcement conduct complied with Colorado law. The Aurora Police Department is also conducting an administrative review of the incident to determine compliance with agency policy, procedures, and training.
"What I would like to say to the family is I'm sorry that not only your loved one was there and passed away, but the time it took to get everything done," she said.
As part of agency policy, the three officers involved in the pursuit have been placed on administrative leave. Because the 17-year-old suspect is a minor, his identity has not been released. He is being held at the Adams County Jail on charges including second-degree murder, aggravated robbery, and vehicular eluding causing death. It has not yet been announced if the teen will be charged as an adult.
"There's a lot of components to youth violence and certainly there's a law enforcement component to that, which would be investigations and arrests," said Morris, "but we also know that we are not going to arrest our way out of violence."
