Two dead as man crashes truck into mall www.privateofficer.com
GREELEY, Colo. July 11 2010
– The Weld County Coroner has identified the two women killed at the Greeley Mall after a pickup truck drove into the Visionworks store Saturday.
Kimberley Fletcher, 32, of Greeley was a customer in the store. Jennifer Hudgens, 23, of Pueblo was a store employee and student at the University of Northern Colorado.
Witnesses said a 19-year-old man from Evans, drove his white Chevy pick-up truck, at around 30-40 mph, into the glass storefront without braking.
“The [driver's] foot was on the accelerator, all the way until it entered the building,” said Greeley Police Cpt. Juan Cruz.
One witness inside the store, who asked to remain anonymous, said at first he thought a bomb had exploded.
But then he realized, amidst all the smoke and dust, that there was a truck in the middle of the store.
He said the wheels of the truck were still spinning and the driver would not take his foot off the gas pedal.
An eye doctor had to get into the bed of the truck and break the window to get inside, he added.
During the chaos, a 9-year-old boy was heard crying that his mother was under the truck.
His mother was identified as Fletcher, who died at the scene.
The 9-year-old was also injured after being struck by shards of glass. He is believed to be the son of a security guard and Fletcher.
“He doesn’t know she’s dead yet. He’s at the hospital with his son who was the little boy who was taken by ambulance earlier. It’s hard,” said Rebekah McClure of Evans.
“I don’t think it’s an accident, there are too many pillars over there for it to accidentally have happened. He meant to hurt somebody in there.”
Police say there are multiple theories to why the truck crashed. They range from medical reasons to vehicle malfunction.
The cause of the accident is under investigation. Authorities do not believe drugs or alcohol were a factor.
