A male driver allegedly on his cellphone drifted onto the dirt shoulder of a road in Thornton and killed two men and critically injured a teenage boy Saturday, authorities said.
Police arrested driver Michael J. Grennan, 33, of Loveland, who pulled over and contacted help after the accident, said Thornton police spokesman Matt Barnes. Grennan’s cellphone was taken as evidence, Barnes said.
Drivers in front and behind Grennan’s pickup truck told police that he was drifting out of his eastbound lane before he struck the pedestrians, who were on the shoulder walking east, Barnes said.
Grennan was being held for investigation of careless driving resulting in death, which is a misdemeanor, Barnes said.
The names of the victims had not been released. The two men were pronounced dead at the scene, and the boy, described as in his late teens, was airlifted to a nearby hospital in critical condition, Barnes said.
Grennan’s mother, Kathleen, also of Loveland, said she had heard he was involved in an accident but did not know the details.
“He is a loving, caring family man,” she said, and has a wife and daughter.
The accident happened at 12:14 p.m. in the 3500 block of East 168th Avenue, along a paved rural road that is the border between Weld and Adams counties.
The three pedestrians were walking east on the dirt shoulder of the road when Grennan’s 1998 Toyota pickup drifted off onto the shoulder and slammed into all three, Barnes said. The truck’s swerving path was still visible in the dirt shoulder as police hauled away the Toyota, its right- front bumper and grill dented.
Barnes said the driver apparently was talking on his cellphone when the accident happened, according to witnesses. Thornton police were still investigating the accident, he said, and considered it a distracted-driving case.
Police said they did not suspect excessive speed, drugs or alcohol were involved.
At least one state lawmaker said the accident is more evidence that Colorado should pass a full ban on using mobile devices for talking, texting or any other activity while driving.
In 2009, a bill was proposed to ban use of cellphones in cars after 9-year-old Erica Forney was killed on Thanksgiving 2008 by a 36-year-old driver who was distracted by a cellphone call.
The bill would have required drivers to use hands-free devices when talking on cellphones while driving. The cellphone portion was removed from the bill, which did ban text-messaging while driving. Drivers younger than 18 are banned altogether from using cellphones while behind the wheel.
Former Gov. Bill Ritter signed the bill in 2009. Violations are considered a Class A traffic infraction, punishable by a fine of $50 for a first offense and $100 on a second offense.
“I don’t think we’re finished with this issue,” state Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder,
said Saturday. Levy sponsored the 2009 bill and wanted it to go further.
“People still need to come to grips with the fact this incredible convenience is also an incredible distraction,” Levy said. “Something done by so many, who think they are prudent people, is actually dangerous. People don’t mean to do bad things; it just happens.”
The National Transportation Safety Board voted unanimously in December to recommend all states have a complete ban on driving and talking, including hands-free devices. That is much further than most states have gone so far in regulating the devices.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com
