June 10, 2004

Contact:

Lynn Kimbrough, 720-913-9025

MAN CHARGED IN DEATH OF 3-YEAR-OLD

Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter, Jr. has formally charged an 18-year-old driver who hit and killed a 3-year-old girl on May 30, 2004.

Robert Lopez (11-27-85) is charged with careless driving resulting in death (M2), misuse of plates (t/o) and no proof of insurance (t/o).

The charges allege that on May 30, 2004 at about 9 p.m., Lopez was speeding as he drove northbound in the 1600 block of south Zuni Street just as 3-year-old Neida Duarte ran out into the street.  (She was one day shy of her third birthday.)

Lopez has been served a summons and is scheduled to appear in Denver County Court for his arraignment on July 8, 2004 at 8 a.m. in courtroom 11S.

Careless driving resulting in death is a class 2 misdemeanor.  The presumptive range for sentencing on an M2 is up to a year in jail.