Inset: Cesario Serrato (Denver Police Department). Background: Cellphone video captured at the scene of the Colorado crash Cesario Serrato is accused of causing shows people trying to lift Serrato's vehicle after he dragged a woman for half a block (KDVR/YouTube).
A drunk Colorado man mowed down three women in a crosswalk and then dragged one of them for "half a block" until he finally "became stopped in traffic" after running a red light, cops say.
"He had no intention of stopping," a witness told local Fox affiliate KDVR. "I don't even know if he was aware of what had just happened, because he continued [driving]."
Cesario Serrato, 56, is expected to face charges of vehicular assault and DUI in connection with the early Sunday morning crash, according to police officials.
He allegedly struck three women crossing near 20th and Larimer streets around 2:30 a.m. as nearby bars were shutting down for the night, KDVR reports. A portion of the crash was caught on video by bystanders, with footage showing people rushing to help lift Serrato's car off the victim he allegedly dragged.
"We were waiting there to cross the street, and the females were right next to us, and I saw the vehicle coming at us at a high rate of speed," the witness who spoke to KDVR said. "That's when I grabbed my sister and somebody that was in front of me and pulled them back, and unfortunately, I couldn't react fast enough to pull the females out of the way, so I saw them get struck."
Police say Serrato ran a red light before hitting the three victims, who were between the ages of 19 and 24. A probable cause statement alleges that one of the women "was pulled underneath the vehicle" Serrato was driving and "dragged approximately half a block," KDVR reports.
"Officers and bystanders had to lift the defendant's vehicle from the passenger side to free [the victim] from underneath," the statement says.
Two of the women were "thrown" by the impact and the third, identified as a 21-year-old, was dragged. Serrato allegedly showed an "extreme level of intoxication" after the crash and was arrested.
"I chased after him, not knowing that she was actually under the car at first, and so he stopped at the next light, only because there was a couple of people in front of him," witness Xavier Thomas told local ABC affiliate KMGH.
Thomas recalled hearing people screaming, "She's under the car," after Serrato finally came to a stop.
"All of the cops came together, and we lifted the car to get her out, and thank God we got her out in time, because we don't know how long she would have been under there if that light was green," he said.
Court records show Serrato was driving with a revoked license and has a history of traffic offenses, including two incidents within the last 10 years in which he was allegedly driving while impaired.