Family Injured In Accident Caused By Street Racer
DENVER (CBS4) - A family that was planning to be with relatives for Christmas instead wound up in the hospital the victims of a hit and run apparently caused by a street racer.
The family was driving on Interstate 25 near the Yale Avenue exit Sunday night when they were hit from behind and ended up crashing into the guardrail and in oncoming traffic.
The later learned at the hospital that the car to blame had hit two other cars and was traveling about 100 mph.
"They told us we would not be alive if it had not been for the car we were in," said victim Jean Duane.
Duane and her husband Mark Peretsman were supposed to be in California with relatives for Christmas but are now at home recovering.
"I feel like I got my life for Christmas," said Duane.
The couple, along with Duane's elderly mother, was driving home to await their morning flight when their car was hit from behind.
For A 90-year-old woman to take an impact like that, it's a miracle that it didn't just kill her," said Peretsman.
Although thankful to be alive, they're shocked at what authorities told them happened.
Police told them a navy blue BMW was street racing down I-25, traveling an estimated 100 mph and struck another vehicle. That car then rolled over, and hit them.
"That car had a woman in it with two babies," said Duane.
Nobody was killed in the crash but police say the driver of the BMW and a passenger fled the scene on foot.
"That person who drove that navy blue BMW ran away from all those people who were hurt," said Duane.
The couple says they were told street racing on Sunday nights is not uncommon.
"We just wanted to call attention to the fact that this is going on in Denver," said Peretsman.
As they prepared to salvage their holiday, Duane had a message for those responsible.
"To leave the scene like a coward, you really need to step up and be accountable for what you did," said Duane.
The couple says they will now avoid driving on busy highways on Sunday nights to be on the safe side.
