Inset: Joshua Douglass, pictured in his Legacy.com obituary. Background: News footage showing the aftermath of the crash that killed Douglass and injured several other people (KCNC).
An 88-year-old Colorado man is facing multiple felony charges after investigators said he drove his pickup truck toward a group of pedestrians following a bicycling event.
Van Lemaster was charged with felony vehicular homicide, four counts of vehicular assault and two counts of reckless endangerment in connection with the Aug. 29 crash that killed 33-year-old Joshua Douglass. Court documents obtained by the local outlet Cowboy State Daily say Lemaster was driving a Chevrolet Silverado as he and an unidentified woman prepared to leave a Fort Collins restaurant after lunch.
Fort Collins was hosting its annual Tour de Fat that day, a costumed bicycle parade and festival. Several cyclists were passing through the area while Lemaster attempted to reverse his truck from a parking space.
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Police said Lemaster was not intoxicated, and investigators found no mechanical defect in the truck. Although the precise reason for the alleged acceleration remained unclear, authorities concluded that Lemaster’s driving was reckless. Investigators also said he overrode the pickup’s automatic braking system and pressed the accelerator aggressively as people nearby were eating ice cream.
Lemaster was reportedly booked Friday, but his name did not appear on the Larimer County Jail inmate roster. Cowboy State Daily reported that his bond was set at $75,000. His next court hearing was scheduled for Oct. 22.
The 88-year-old man is accused of overriding his pickup truck’s automatic brakes and accelerating “aggressively” into a group of people eating ice cream, killing one person, according to police.
