Inset: Joshua Douglass (Legacy.com obituary). Background: News footage of the aftermath of the crash that killed Joshua Douglass and injured several others (KCNC).
An elderly Colorado man faces several felony charges after investigators said he accelerated his pickup truck toward a group of pedestrians after a bicycling event.
Van Lemaster, 88, was charged with felony vehicular homicide, four counts of vehicular assault, and two counts of reckless endangerment in connection with a car crash that killed 33-year-old Joshua Douglass on Aug. 29. According to court documents obtained by local news outlet Cowboy State Daily, Lemaster was behind the wheel of his Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck that day when he and an unnamed woman were preparing to leave after having lunch at a restaurant in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The same day, Fort Collins was holding its annual Tour de Fat, a costumed bicycle parade and festival, and several cyclists were riding through the same area as Lemaster while he was trying to back out of his parking space.
According to the court documents, Lemaster allegedly backed into a Nissan Altima while trying to get out of the parking spot and also avoid hitting cyclists. A witness told police that Lemaster threw the truck into drive after he "revved the engine aggressively." After Lemaster accelerated, he reportedly jumped the curb and hit several bicycles and a handicapped parking sign.
Investigators said Lemaster then accelerated into a group of pedestrians, including Douglass and his girlfriend, one of whom was thrown into the outdoor seating area of a nearby ice cream parlor. Douglass was allegedly dragged underneath the truck until it stopped moving. According to the court documents, the truck hit two more people, and one person was thrown onto a passerby who had been knocked down.
Lemaster suffered a head injury in the crash and was treated at the hospital. Douglass was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
When investigators obtained data from Lemaster's Silverado, they determined that the truck had an automatic emergency braking system that detected Douglass and the other pedestrians and successfully activated its "Alert and Brake" function. However, investigators said that as the system engaged the brakes, Lemaster allegedly continued to press his foot to the gas pedal "at 99%."
According to the court documents, Lemaster's continued acceleration overrode the automatic brakes, which investigators said would have worked to prevent the truck from colliding with pedestrians.
Police said Lemaster was not intoxicated at the time of the crash, nor were there any mechanical defects on the part of the vehicle. While an exact reason for Lemaster's alleged acceleration was not clear, investigators determined that his driving was reckless.
Lemaster did not appear on the inmate roster for Larimer County Jail, where he was reportedly booked on Friday. Cowboy State Daily reported that his bond was set at $75,000. His next court appearance was scheduled for Oct. 22.
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