Watch CBS News

2 Killed In What Started As Road Rage Incident

DENVER (CBS4)- One man was struck and killed early Thursday morning after an apparent road rage incident and the Good Samaritan who stopped to help was also struck and killed by a different vehicle moments later.

Police said the first collision happened after 5 a.m. at 56th Avenue and Pena Boulevard when two drivers headed eastbound on 56th got into a road rage incident.

men-hit-and-killed-map
(credit: CBS)

Police said the two drivers pulled over and one man got out and started to knock on the car window. The occupant tried to drive away and told police that the man jumped in front of the vehicle and was struck.

56th-and-pena-blvd-1
(credit: CBS)

A Good Samaritan saw this happen and stopped to help. When he exited his vehicle, that man was struck by a different vehicle. That vehicle also struck the man who was initially hit first, which meant the first victim was struck by two different vehicles.

"A Good Samaritan gets out to assist and is struck with another car as well as the first person to get struck," said Denver Police Traffic Investigations Sgt. Mike Farr.

The Good Samaritan was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries where he died a short time later. He was an employee of Denver Department of Public Works.

56th-and-pena-2
The deadly crash at 56th and Pena Boulevard (credit: CBS)

Police initially investigated the deaths as related to road rage but also took other factors into consideration.

"Think about the time of day. This was shortly after five in the morning so traffic is starting to build up to the rush hour but where was the sun? Well below the horizon so it's dark. As folks are waiting to get onto 56th from Pena, headlamps are on so a car on approach from eastbound is going to have a hard time seeing a person standing outside their car because they're staring at headlamps," said Farr.

Both directions of 56th Avenue and Pena Boulevard remained closed for a few hours during the investigation and cleanup. The lanes reopened before 9 a.m.

56th-and-pena
(credit: CBS)

The identities of those involved have not been released.

Police said all drivers stayed on scene and cooperated with investigators. The Denver District Attorney does not anticipate that charges will be filed in the case.

56th-and-pena-blvd
Copter4 flew over the deadly crash at 56th and Pena Boulevard (credit: CBS)
View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.