Three Killed in Colorado After Van Driver Experiences Medical Emergency, Police Say
Three people were killed and two more were injured Wednesday afternoon in Aurora, Colorado after the driver of a van reportedly suffered a medical emergency and crashed.
The incident occurred just after 1 p.m. MT at the corner of East Iliff Avenue and South Buckley Road. According to the Aurora Police Department, three adult pedestrians were walking down the sidewalk when they were struck by a white van careening out of control.
Police said that two of the pedestrians, both female, were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.
A third male pedestrian was taken to an area hospital "out of an abundance of caution, [but] he was not injured," Aurora Police Public Information Officer Francisco Saucedo said at a press conference.
The driver of the van, a male, also died at the scene, and a female passenger inside the vehicle suffered a number of minor injuries but is expected to survive.
The exact ages of the victims have not been released to the media.
Police stated that they believed the driver had suffered some type of medical problem or emergency, which in turn caused him to crash the van. "What exactly that medical problem was, we're not sure yet," Saucedo said.
The passenger in the van reportedly corroborated this fact, confirming to investigators that the driver had suffered a medical emergency, but did not go into further detail.
Saucedo stated that the police did not believe that drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash.
Authorities credited a number of good samaritans who had begun assisting the injured pedestrians, helping to administer first aid and performing CPR even before the authorities arrived.
Aurora Police closed off the street in order to allow traffic investigators to work. "Traffic investigators are on scene. They will electronically scan the area & piece together what led up to this tragic crash," the police department tweeted.
The intersection where the crash occurred is reportedly a fairly busy area of Aurora, with police stating that the area has significant vehicle and foot traffic.
The crash site was also less than one mile away from Rangeview High School, and the Colorado Springs Gazette reported that many students walk the same street during lunchtime in order to frequent local restaurants.
An overview of the intersection shows many places to eat along both sides of the street, including a Little Ceasars Pizza, McDonald's, Wendys and Dutch Bros Coffee.
Newsweek reached out to the city of Aurora, Colorado for comment but did not receive a response before publication.
