LITTLETON, Colo. — A driver received a citation after she allegedly hit and killed a Euclid Middle School student who was biking to school in October.
The Littleton Police Department announced on Friday that Beth Ann Hutchinson, 39, of Littleton was facing a charge of careless driving resulting in death.
The crash happened on Oct. 17 at a roundabout at S. Elati Street and S. Arapahoe Drive, just south of the Euclid Middle School. Littleton police and South Metro Fire and Rescue responded around 8:04 a.m.
According to an incident report, a witness who saw the crash was the first to reach the boy, and started performing CPR.
When first responders arrived, they began life-saving measures on the young bicyclist, however he was pronounced deceased shortly afterward. Police said Hutchinson remained at the scene and was cooperative with police. She had been driving a silver GMC Yukon. There was slight damage to the hood of her car, according to a crash report. An incident report read that the bicycle was under the front of the car.
Euclid Middle School identified the victim as seventh-grader Liam Dean Stewart, 13, of Littleton. He was described as a "confident bike rider" and often rode to school, according to an incident report.
“We treasure every member of our school community, and to lose a student is extremely difficult for all of us," said Euclid Middle School Principal Amanda Hurley in a message to parents. "Liam’s brothers attend school at Runyon Elementary. Our hearts are with the Runyon community."
A crash report lists the "most apparent human contributing factors" for the driver as the morning sunrise, which caused a glare, and the fact that she looked and did not see the bicyclist. She was going around a roundabout at the time of the crash, heading east. Stewart was heading north in a marked bike lane at the roundabout, according to the report.
One witness said the driver had "a fast acceleration" through the roundabout. Witnesses told police sunglare is a problem in the area, according to the incident report.
Stewart was wearing a helmet, which was broken in the crash, and was not wearing headphones.
Police said in their report they believe he looked and did not see the car.
According to a Arapahoe County Coroner's Report, Stewart died of multiple blunt force injuries. Based on his injuries, the coroner said he did not suffer.
Hutchinson has an arraignment set for Jan. 9, 2024.
Editor's note: This story was edited after an error about the bicyclist's actions prior to the crash, as listed in the crash report.
