Colorado Ballet musician killed in 4-car crash in Arvada. Suspect facing DUI charges.
A deadly four-car crash in Arvada on Monday appears to have been caused by a drunk driver, police say. A father who is also a musician in the Colorado Ballet was killed.
Kresten Wolff Thomsen was identified as the victim in that crash near West 64th Avenue and North Lamar Street. The 44-year-old father's two kids were in the car at the time. One was seriously injured, according to Arvada police, and both are in now the ICU.
"This family has been completely shattered and will now face unimaginable hardship," Elyse Massey, a co-worker of Wolff Thomsen's wife Alicia, wrote on GoFundMe. "Alicia is now the sole provider for her family and is having to step away from work as a nurse to be with her children in the hospital and to grieve the loss of her husband."
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Arvada police say 23-year-old Juan Ortega Torres Jr. was driving a pickup truck east on West 64th Avenue when he ran a red light, crashing into Wolff Thomsen's sedan and sending it into a nearby yard. Wolff Thomsen was pronounced dead at the scene.
Ortega Torres continued east on 64th Avenue, hitting a gray Ford Bronco traveling in the opposite direction. The driver of the Bronco sustained minor injuries. Ortega Torres was also taken to the hospital -- in police custody -- and is awaiting booking and formal charges.
Wolff Thomsen was a pianist at the Colorado Ballet Academy, according to his LinkedIn. Prior to that, he performed and taught music in Denmark and Sweden, including working as a pianist at The Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen for 20 years.
