Driver slams into ambulance; pedestrian killed
Police say driver was speeding, drunk
By Alan Gathright, Rocky Mountain News (Contact), Judi Villa, Rocky Mountain News
Published August 19, 2008 at 5:50 a.m.
Photo by George Kochaniec Jr. © The Rocky
Scene of a deadly crash between an ambulance and a car at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and York Street.
Rochelle Hope was less than a half-mile from home and a little more than a block from the place her mother shares with her grandfather.
It's not clear where she was headed as she walked along Martin Luther King Boulevard at 3:11 a.m. Tuesday. But the 28- year-old was killed after a speeding and drunken driver ran a red light and slammed into an ambulance, police said.
The wreckage spun into Hope.
Police say patrol officers spotted a speeding white Cadillac just moments before the crash but couldn't turn around fast enough to pull over the vehicle.
The driver, whom firefighters had to cut from the car, has not been identified.
He was listed in critical condition.
"If (the driver) survives, he is going to be charged with vehicular homicide," Denver police accident investigator J.L. Huff said.
The ambulance, responding to an emergency call with flashing lights and sirens, was headed west on MLK Boulevard.
Skid marks indicate the ambulance driver slammed on the brakes after entering the intersection at York Street but could not avoid the collision.
The smashed vehicles slid west past the intersection, slamming into a bus stop bench on the north side of the street.
The Cadillac hit with such force that it flipped on its top. The Denver Health ambulance came to rest facing east - the opposite way it had been traveling .
Investigators will have to reconstruct the accident to determine precisely where Hope was when she was hit.
"She was my baby cousin. I loved her," Hope's cousin, Jolynn Hardin said. "It hurts."
Hardin said Hope had two younger brothers and, at one point, was attending school to become a massage therapist.
"We wonder why," said Hardin's husband, Walter Murray. "What happened? Why would she be out that early. We don't know."
The initial investigation ruled out the possibility that Hope was a passenger ejected from the car that hit the ambulance, said police spokesman Sonny Jackson.
As for the possibility that Hope might have been sitting on the bus bench, Jackson said it was "looking more like" Hope was a pedestrian.
Huff said he tried to interview the Cadillac driver at the hospital.
"He was so drunk and out of it that he didn't even know he was driving," Huff said. "He doesn't have any idea what happened."
Hope never regained consciousness at the hospital. She was pronounced dead at 5:27 a.m.
The ambulance driver, Tom Kacan, was hospitalized in fair condition, according to a Denver Health statement.
His partner, Marsha Davis, was treated and released.
Gathrighta@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5486
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August 19, 2008
8:17 a.m.
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freedomfighter1 writes:
Wow! Another alcohol related death. I hear about more alcohol related deaths than any others involving substances. People examine your goverment. The goverment says that it is protecting us from the dangers of other drugs by prohibiting them. Why would you make the one that is really deadly legal and the less harmful ones illegal? Is it because they tax alcohol (and tobacco) and make a buck off it, and if so, they care about our lives but would trade them for money?
August 19, 2008
8:33 a.m.
SLAP writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
August 19, 2008
8:46 a.m.
Suggest removal
youme writes:
They make more than a "buck" off of DUI's.
They should legalize it, they can sell it in packs at the store and tax it. The major downfall is the test the have for it. If they pulled you over they could test you and if you smoked 30 days prior, they could get you on a DUI.
August 19, 2008
8:50 a.m.
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BrandiWine_84 writes:
Amen, freedomfighter. Drinking has caused more problems for myself and my friends and family than any other external factor I can think of. What a tragic story.
About the article . . . . I highly doubt the female was waiting for a bus at 3 in the morning, so they can probably go ahead and eliminate that option
August 19, 2008
8:54 a.m.
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Cowboy63 writes:
This has nothing to do with what substance is legal or illegal. The drunken idiot made a CHOICE - and now property is destroyed and people are either dead or injured because of it.
Choices and responsibility.
August 19, 2008
8:58 a.m.
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Steph writes:
You're right freedomfighter.
How many pot related deaths have you heard about lately (or ever?).
Hope they put the driver away for years but doubt if it will happen.
August 19, 2008
9:07 a.m.
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The_Punnisher writes:
Hmm, lots of indicators. If you follow the stereotypes, you know what kind of occupation the drunk had....
It's called REALITY. Deal with it.
August 19, 2008
9:13 a.m.
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solar_satellite writes:
Who drove the Cadillac? Who was the dead woman? Who was in the ambulance? Why do so many stories appear in both the R.M.N. and D.P. that fail to identify any of the people involved? Am I the only reader that wants Denver's newspapers to practice journalism?
Newspaper articles should excite interest, concern, or outrage -- about the events described, as opposed to the article itself!
August 19, 2008
9:16 a.m.
Suggest removal
LingLingfor_prez writes:
I think that people that fall asleep, drive drunk, or are under the influence of drugs (prescription or not) should be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law. Time for personal responsibility and accountability.
August 19, 2008
9:16 a.m.
Suggest removal
truth22 writes:
It's not the Government's fault that this guy was driving drunk. We live in a "free society" which is based on TRUST. Hopefully the driver lives so they can throw his @ss in the klink. Dying would be too easy for him. Bad things tend to happen after 2am even if you are in a BMW, drunk, speeding down Littleton Blvd and not affiliated with a GANG.
August 19, 2008
9:18 a.m.
Suggest removal
Barron writes:
Slap writes: "A drunk in a Cadillac on MLK Blvd! Wow....way to break the mold people."
Use your reading comprehension skills, slap. The cadillac was northbound on York. The ambulance was on MLK.
August 19, 2008
9:27 a.m.
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truth22 writes:
*LOL* Nice Barron!
You have to excuse poor slap, he/she is to busy sipping on a Latte at Starbuck's while surfing the 'net' to actually read this article.
August 19, 2008
9:35 a.m.
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rpcvmars writes:
Actually BrandiWine_84 that bus starts around 3 and gets there about 330, so if they are working some terrible shift they might have been there and half asleep or just trying to get home. That's the main thing that strikes me about this article; my mom lives in that neighborhood....if it had been any other time of day that could have been her.
August 19, 2008
9:36 a.m.
Suggest removal
CharR writes:
Solar,
Newspapers don't name victims before the family is notified. Plus, it's out of respect for those involved. If it were your wife or sister involved in the accident, would you have her name slapped on the front page before you were told?
August 19, 2008
9:36 a.m.
Suggest removal
solar_satellite writes:
You all aren't interested in competent journalism; you're just consumers.
An article not sullied by the presence of facts is the best sort to riff off.
Mount your hobby-horses!
August 19, 2008
9:43 a.m.
Suggest removal
theairdog writes:
youme writes:
They make more than a "buck" off of DUI's.
They should legalize it, they can sell it in packs at the store and tax it. The major downfall is the test the have for it. If they pulled you over they could test you and if you smoked 30 days prior, they could get you on a DUI.
------------------------------------
Shows how much you know. The statute for driving under the influence of alcohol and and then statute for driving under the influence of drugs drugs are one and the same. The penalties are the same.
42-4-1301. Driving under the influence - driving while impaired - driving with excessive alcoholic content - definitions - penalties.
(1) (a) It is a misdemeanor for any person who is under the influence of alcohol or one or more drugs, or a combination of both alcohol and one or more drugs, to drive any vehicle in this state.
August 19, 2008
9:47 a.m.
Suggest removal
theairdog writes:
It's not just drunk drivers.
People do some amazingly dumb things when police run the lights and siren; including, but not limited to: Pulling over to the left; Remaining in the same lane but slowing down by 20 mph; Nothing at all.
Just so everyone knows. You are supposed to pull over to the right as far as you can and STOP.
August 19, 2008
9:47 a.m.
Suggest removal
Creative_N_Denver writes:
With all the advertisements showing the downfalls of drinking and driving, people still drink and drive! If you want to drink, be responsible and don't drive! How many innocent people have to die before our laws really do something about it? Too many of these drinkers have been caught before, fined and let go. Just to get behind the wheel again! Guess the laws need to be made tougher.
Correct me if I am wrong, I didn't read anything about it being gang related. I read that the person driving the cadillac was drunk and slammed into an ambulance and there was another victim, a woman who was either at the bus stop or possibly a passenger and she died. I try to be home by 10pm and even than there are way too many people out there driving and weaving.
Driving is a serious responsibility that is taken way to lightly. Vehicular homicide, just another term for murder by lack of judgement.
August 19, 2008
9:56 a.m.
Suggest removal
solar_satellite writes:
CharR: The R.M.N. and the D.P. consistently fail to identify the people described in their articles. Having read newspapers outside of Denver, I am struck by this pattern of not providing information deemed essential by journalists elsewhere. Are law enforcement officers failing to identify accident victims or suspects (of course, Denver is being sued for exactly this), or do they routinely lie or fail to supply non-confidential information to reporters? It is amazing how many articles here describe contact between law enforcement and unidentified persons. "Who" is the first of the Five W's, the shorthand for basic journalistic practice, but in Colorado, at least the first of the five usually goes missing.
August 19, 2008
10:12 a.m.
Suggest removal
Keith43 writes:
The problem has always been and always will be, that the punishment for a DUI is not stiff enough. I never could understand how people who re-offend time and time again, get nothing but a slap on the wrist. Perhaps when a judge loses one of his/her children or spouse to a drunk driver, things will change. Wishful thinking, huh!
August 19, 2008
10:14 a.m.
Suggest removal
truth22 writes:
MG Solar, get over the names. What, are you in Journalism School? Give the victims and their families involved some privacy and respect. If you want instant gratification then stick with the "Enquirer."
August 19, 2008
10:18 a.m.
Suggest removal
Scott writes:
Keith43,
Unfortunately you're correct regarding "wishful thinking." Actually, it's more of a game in the courtroom. Justice is the furthest thing from the minds of the lawyers and judge. The game matters more.
Scott
August 19, 2008
10:22 a.m.
Suggest removal
rpcvmars writes:
I agree with you Keith, I’m ashamed to say I’ve known several people who have been charged with a DUI and while no one was hurt, thankfully, I do feel that if the punishment was stronger they would have a greater chance to learn from their mistakes before someone is hurt.
August 19, 2008
10:39 a.m.
Suggest removal
solar_satellite writes:
truth22: dude, I hope you're not 22; you're knee-jerk enough to be 60. Did you read my last post? Concern for families doesn't explain the consistent failure to include the identities of the people described in the articles. Why are you so tolerant of incompetence?
August 19, 2008
11:09 a.m.
Suggest removal
Mtn__Gator writes:
Although I am in favor of stiffer DUI laws, I do believe the legal limit needs to be discussed. As it is now, one drink and you are in the same boat as some idiot like this, who is completely hammered.
The only way this dumb-dumb is going to get off is if he's illegal, then he doesn't have to worry about anything..
August 19, 2008
11:20 a.m.
Suggest removal
p_myers661 writes:
Perhaps the failure to print names is an outgrowth of the Atlanta Olympics bombings where a suspect was named and later earned a high settlement from several news organizations for their immediate reporting of his name.
I would question why names are so important. The story here is a drunk driver who hit an ambulance and killed a woman. I'd add that while the legal penalties seem small, and often are, the new initiative 100 in Denver will add a particularly sweet punishment: impoundment and sale of the car. It might be smashed, but under the law it will belong to the state from the moment of the violation so any insurance payment (if this guy had insurance) will go to the state.
Since I don't know any of the people involved in most news stories, I don't have a need to get names. If one of the people holds a responsible position either in public or private, that is a reason to print the name. The famous are so often seen by others that it would be impossible to hide their names.
Getting the information later won't bother me.
As for the legalization of drugs, that is something I would not like. Alcohol is also a food and has a long history of consumption that crosses all cultures and peoples. Drugs have no such comprehensive history or acceptance.
The best thing is that the penalties for illegal driving are the same for both drugs and alcohol. It is much easier to prove drugs at a roadside stop. The law also covers legal use of legally prescribed drugs. Same penalty if the driver is impaired by them. Looks pretty equal to me. Only inequality is that some are not legally sold or used. Looks to me like if it's a DUI, any kind, law is quite equal.
August 19, 2008
11:31 a.m.
Suggest removal
truth22 writes:
Solar, we are reading an article from the ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS for crying out loud! What do you expect from a newspaper that has been running a series about our Civic Center Park for what seems like SIXTY years? One featured the eliminating of Pigeon krap!
If you want to complain about something then maybe ask why the RMN was so vague and late in reporting the John Edwards affair?
August 19, 2008
11:32 a.m.
Suggest removal
freedomfighter1 writes:
P myers
states: "As for the legalization of drugs, that is something I would not like. Alcohol is also a food and has a long history of consumption that crosses all cultures and peoples. Drugs have no such comprehensive history or acceptance."
Are you saying marijuana is not a drug, I agree with you. If you are saying marijuana is a drug, then you may want to look into its history and uses which are far wider than alcohol.
August 19, 2008
11:48 a.m.
Suggest removal
PRoy writes:
solar_satellite -
I believe it's more about privacy.
If the police would not release the names, should all reporting papers/news agencies hold backs stories? (hmm, there was a bomb that blew up a building in Afghan - it's nice to know, but they didn't know the names of the 22 people who died - guess this needs to be thrown out).
The one thing I personally hate about naming names is that it opens up too much for everyone - they will know where you live, people who have a vendetta against drunk drivers will be on their doorstep (or worse) and all without 100% proof. (I did not see anythign that mentioned a BAC that was taken to prove that he was drunk or if he was in a diabetic shock). Until there is a trial and the driver is proven guilty - we can only rely on what is shown and often, we (as a society) tend to paint the worst picture (think of the last time you saw the name "gonzalez" in an article - was your 1st thoguht "illegal" or "person who great-great-gandparents were naturalized")
If we ever had to wait for ever single detail of a story to be visible, there woudl be no news. And even if there were, I'm sure you (or someone else for that matter) would want want to know even more than that (year was the cadallic made - did it have current registration...).
For anyone so up on "all things should be visible" - why not show your real name and see if it brings you good things and happy peopel to your doorstep?
(and no, I did not use a speel-cheek system to mack sure mine artikle was ups to you'ses standards or perfectification).
August 19, 2008
11:53 a.m.
Suggest removal
PRoy writes:
sorry -one more thing -
I challenge you to show one single article written anywhere - in any paper/web page/news article/etc... by any author (even you if you feel you are up to it) that contains 100% of the elements that any single person would ever want to know.
August 19, 2008
12:01 p.m.
Suggest removal
ou8one2 writes:
I thought I heard someone say a fat, old drunk guy was seen leaving the scene. Say, isn't Ted Kennedy in town for the DNC?
August 19, 2008
12:45 p.m.
Suggest removal
Scott writes:
ou8one2,
Fortunately NO. The Blob's colon, err I mean "brain" cancer is keeping him home. The women of the greater Denver area dodged that bullet. Now they just have to watch out for Slick Willie.
According to the news article if this Ted Kennedy wannabe survives it will be charged with vehicular homicide. So, how much prison time would this thing get? Anyone know?
Scott
August 19, 2008
1:03 p.m.
Suggest removal
Popmedic writes:
It may have been a drunk driver that hit the ambulance this time, but what about the other 2 collisions that DH ambulance were in last week. That makes 3 ambulance accidents in 5 days. That seems awfully high. With the DNC coming next week, that 3 ambulances less then before. I wonder if they are going to take back amb 12 (the one that is supposed to go solar). I have got to asks if the increase in accidents is due to fatigue? I know that they lifted their overtime cap for the DNC. I wonder if it is the stress of the DNC? If we had REAL news in this town, maybe the news would check how many more time the ambulances are responding with lights and sirens this year, since the DHPD removed all of the dispatchers with field experience out of dispatch. The number of recent accidents with DH ambulances is to many to just be a coincident. With all the response time problems, maybe that is the problem. Sounds like a real story to me, WHERE ARE THE NEWS HOUNDS IN DENVER???
August 19, 2008
1:37 p.m.
Suggest removal
ObviousOne writes:
Wow, that video made me sea sick.
August 19, 2008
1:51 p.m.
Suggest removal
LadyBird112 writes:
"Just so everyone knows. You are supposed to pull over to the right as far as you can and STOP."
Airdog, you'll appreciate this, but I saw someone take that advice to the max--there was an ambulance coming down the street, and magically, the right lane was totally open, with a huge line of cars in the left, so the ambulance took the right lane. Some genius driver, knowing he had to go in the right lane and stopped, did just that, right in front of the ambulance. Oh humanity, gotta love it.
That being said, why does yet another innocent have to die from some@$$hole driving drunk? Why couldn't the idiot behind the wheel have done himself in while kindly removing himself from the gene pool? I know someone will come down on me for being "heartless" or "insensitive" but I don't care. It is so incredibly selfish, whether aware of it or not, to make the decision to drive and put others in danger. I have no sympathy for these people and hope he is dealt with as harshly as possible. Unfortunately, that will not happen, because there really isn't anything harsh enough in the books.
August 19, 2008
3:24 p.m.
Suggest removal
tchoupitoulas writes:
solar_satellite: If the failings of both newspapers are so repugnant to you, then why do you continue to read them, let alone post comments to them? Either the articles truly aren't bothersome to you or you revel in the role of the antagonist. You do have other options....really.
August 19, 2008
4:20 p.m.
Suggest removal
riosmom6 writes:
Ladybird112 - I agree with what you're saying and thought you'd love this post, copied from 9News.com
nfitzwater wrote:
The drive of the car was my son dad he was NOT a gang member he was not black!!! He was a good man and father who love his kids very much, he was a hard worker who was having a bad night and ended up in tragedy. Yes drinking and driving is not good but it happened and I’m sure we all have done it. The ambulance was the one who hit my son’s dad and probably was the one who hit the girl, I’m very sad for her and my prayers go out to her and her family, and also for my sons dad I hope he pulls through. And I hope there is a full investigation on this and the truth comes out.
8/19/2008 12:53 PM PDT on 9news
August 19, 2008
4:21 p.m.
Suggest removal
TheDenverB writes:
"Who drove the Cadillac? Who was the dead woman? Who was in the ambulance? Why do so many stories appear in both the R.M.N. and D.P. that fail to identify any of the people involved? Am I the only reader that wants Denver's newspapers to practice journalism?"
it would help if you actually understood how things work. You can't get people's names from cops often right after an accident, and the private ambulance company has no legal right to give out their employees names NOR does the hospital.
"I am struck by this pattern of not providing information deemed essential by journalists elsewhere. "
you don't htink journalists here want the same info? again, you clearly don't get this business and how hard it is to identify people sometimes. They often have to wait for the police to do so, and in the case of dead victims, newspapers GENERALLY have some sort of morals and won't publish that name until the family has been notified.
bottom line is, the way this is written is the way A LOT of first-run crime stories are...and it's YOU who doesn't have all of the information and are simply jumping to the conclusion that the paper is to blame, when i can assure you it's not.
really man, it's clear you don't get how things work in this business.
August 19, 2008
4:24 p.m.
Suggest removal
BroncoRick69 writes:
Just drink at home.
August 19, 2008
4:35 p.m.
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freedomfighter1 writes:
backspace
So every story that talks about a death should only be a discussion of prayers and thoughts?
August 19, 2008
4:38 p.m.
Suggest removal
wow writes:
Riosmom, thank you for the cut and paste from ch9.
At least the baby momma can admit that drinking and driving is not good.
Sheesh...poor Hope family. What a sensless loss.
Rest well, Rochelle.
August 19, 2008
4:55 p.m.
Suggest removal
jmabry03_1974 writes:
brandiwine_84.....you are so correct. Nevertheless, my heart still goes out to her family. JUST TEACHES US...to count our blessings. Tell everyone close to you how much you love them and also tell your enemies you love them as well.
August 19, 2008
5:29 p.m.
Suggest removal
jjez writes:
The caddy must have been going pretty damn fast to have hit that ambulance hard enough to shove it through the intersection! An ambulance has to weigh a whole lot more than even a cadillac! Sheesh. I really wish, if the guy was drunk, that he'd had enough sense to call a cab! Then an innocent person would still be alive. The article didn't say if they smelled alcohol on his breath so we should probably give him the benefit of the doubt until the BAC test comes back. But even if he was "having a bad night" that's no excuse for anyone to get that drunk. I'm just so saddened by this. My condolences to those who knew Rochelle Hope. May she rest in peace. And I hope the babymomma gets a clue and stops making excuses for the guy, if he was indeed drunk. And if not, I hope he gets medication for whatever condition he has.
August 19, 2008
6:55 p.m.
Suggest removal
awhite411 writes:
I wuz at popeys earlier in the night and saw that guy come threww the drivthruouh and didn't pay for his chicken. He wuz drunk then too.
August 19, 2008
8 p.m.
Suggest removal
solar_satellite writes:
TheDenverB: I don't care "how things work in this business", if that is intended to serve as an excuse for all the perfunctory online articles I read which are often missing not only important information (such as people's names, which are often available within hours of the investigation of an incident), but sometimes consist of a single on-topic sentence; take "Corporate fraud initiative on ballot" from yesterday: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news...
As originally posted, this was exactly three sentence long and said nothing whatever about the actual terms of the proposal. Apparently my harsh complaint about the original article was removed without trace. The AP is also in the habit of rewriting stories they have already published. I believe that every article should stand on its own, if correction or amplification is needed write a separate article. This really touches on journalistic ethics. The paper provides a forum in which the content of articles are discussed, at length, and sometimes thoughtfully. It makes a nonsense of that discussion when the paper edits the content of the article out from under the participants, as I have observed more than once recently.
My complaints may largely be about what appears online, but I'm not going to bother to compare the relative deficiencies of the print and online versions without being paid to do so. I do not believe that first-run crime stories must be online before much relevant can be reported. I understand perfectly well that editors are going way over the line in rushing articles online, if not to print. I am not a consumer, I am a reader -- I object to the way that this newspaper is doing business. If enough other readers concur, perhaps the newspaper can be persuaded to change its behavior.
August 19, 2008
8:09 p.m.
Suggest removal
solar_satellite writes:
tchoupitoulas: Touché -- but what other sources would you recommend for local news? I'm reading the papers in the hope of finding extensive and thoughtful local news coverage -- what alternatives are there?
August 19, 2008
11:01 p.m.
Suggest removal
Reason writes:
"Don't use this forum and the death of a young woman to push your pot agenda. Have some respect and stop being so self
centered."
I think freedomfighter is a little messed up to have some respect and keep his agenda on the pot thread. Of course, when someone says something like "Are you saying marijuana is not a drug, I agree with you.", you have to question whether its the drugs, or their brain.
August 20, 2008
9:20 a.m.
Suggest removal
Shyisty writes:
We are getting away from the topic, another drunk driver has taken the life of another innocent bystander. Regardless of what she was doing out at 3am she is 28 years old and legally able to do that. Our society has allowed drunk drivers to do 5-10 on manslaughter cases or homicides case's which they plead out. No one is taking this serious. The fact is this is a serious crime and although I am an advocate for legalizing Marijuana I still don’t think driving under ANY influence is okay! Drinking is not illegal but drinking and Driving is or for those who will split words Drinking then Driving. Either way tragic story and I am sorry it turned out like this.