HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — Loved ones on Tuesday said their final goodbyes to Alexander "Alex" Mackiewicz, a Highlands Ranch seventh-grader who was killed on his way to school.
Mackiewicz, 13, was riding his OneWheel (a single-wheel electric skateboard) just before 7 a.m. on March 6 when a driver struck and killed him as he was crossing the intersection of Venneford Ranch Road and Highlands Ranch Parkway.
His friends and family gathered for his funeral services on Tuesday, which included a viewing and mass at St. Joseph's Polish Church. A motorcycle procession escorted Mackiewicz and his loved ones to Fairmount Cemetery. The services ended with a Celebration of Life at St. Andrews Methodist Church in Highlands Ranch.
The teen was buried with a signed baseball bat, ball and mitt that the Colorado Rockies donated, according to Mackiewicz's mother.
Highlands Ranch
Driver arrested one week after crash that killed Highlands Ranch seventh-grader
Ruben Morones, 52, was arrested on March 13 in connection with Mackiewicz's death. He is accused of careless driving causing death, careless driving causing serious bodily injury to a vulnerable road user and failure to obey a traffic control signal.
According to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, Morones was traveling eastbound in the far-right lane on Highlands Ranch Parkway when he approached the intersection. At the time, the signal was red for eastbound traffic, according to the DCSO
Alex was traveling southbound in the crosswalk on Venneford Ranch Road, crossing Highlands Ranch Parkway. The walk signal was activated when the teen was crossing, the sheriff's office said.
According to DCSO, Morones ran the red light, striking Alex on the opposite side of the intersection. The vehicle came to a "controlled rest" after the impact east of the intersection. Alex was ejected off his Onewheel and came to rest against the curb line east of the intersection, the sheriff's office said.
Mackiewicz's mother told Denver7 she is not satisfied with the charges and is planning to speak out publicly for the first time on Thursday. His family said they plan to push for tougher penalties for careless drivers, better traffic safety laws, and redesigned intersections, signage and lights for school children.
