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Lakewood Police arrest man accused of fatal hit-and-run crash

Police said Wednesday they arrested 37-year-old Melvin Woolley.

LAKEWOOD, Colo. — Lakewood Police arrested a man accused of hitting and killing a man Saturday night on West Colfax Avenue.

Agents with Lakewood Police attempted to conduct a traffic stop in the area of North Lamar Street and West Colfax Avenue, according to Agent Alex Curry, a spokesman for the Lakewood Police Department.

The adult male driver of the vehicle, a silver Ford Fusion, eluded Lakewood agents and went eastbound on Colfax, Curry told reporters at the scene.

Police said Wednesday they arrested 37-year-old Melvin Woolley. They believe he was driving that vehicle and obtained an arrest warrant for: 

  • Suspicion of vehicular homicide
  • Hit-and-run
  • Vehicular eluding causing death
  • Driver under restraint
  • No proof of insurance
  • Expired license plates
  • Obscured license plates
Credit: DOC
Melvin Woolley.

According to the Dept. of Corrections (DOC) website, Woolley is on parole. Woolley's DOC profile lists him at 6-feet, 6-inches tall and 220 pounds.

According to Curry, agents turned off their lights and sirens and did not pursue the vehicle.

As the driver passed Benton Street, the vehicle hit a man, identified as 29-year-old Jonathon Furley, in the road. Curry said Furley was jaywalking.

Furley was transported to a hospital where he was declared dead, according to Curry.

Lakewood police patrol agent, Rob Albrets, later said in an email that witnesses told them the victim "had just shoplifted merchandise from AutoZone immediately before crossing West Colfax Avenue and being hit by the car." 

Curry told reporters that the driver hit a wall just west of Colfax and Sheridan Boulevard and ran from the crash.

Furley's death is the third on Colfax in a week. 

A woman was hit and killed a few blocks away in Denver on Zenobia Street on Colfax last week, and a man was hit and killed in Aurora at Laredo Street on Sunday morning. 

RELATED: Suspect in fatal hit-and-run had been deported 6 times, according to ICE

Jack Todd, with Denver Streets Partnership, said Colfax Avenue is on what's called the High Injury Network, "which is the 5 percent of streets in Denver that make up 50 percent of our traffic crashes." 

He said in addition to not enough crosswalks, speed is a factor that contributes to too many fatalities. 

“It’s a long straight line and traffic lights are designed to go green, green, green so people can really pick up the pace and that can be a huge problem when it comes to traffic crashes," said Todd. 

In Denver this year, there were 60 auto/pedestrian crashes on Colfax alone. 

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