DENVER — Family and friends of the man who was killed by a hit-and-run driver in a Monday crash on I-225 was “doing the right thing” by calling an Uber to get home safely, only to be killed by a potentially drunk driver.
Those family and friends tell Denver7 that Charlie Leake had called a ride home after drinking at a neighborhood bar. Authorities say the Uber he was riding in, a Toyota, was rear-ended by a Jeep that eventually flipped. Leake was killed in the crash. Colorado State Patrol says the driver of the Jeep ran away from the scene, and that speed and alcohol were likely factors in the crash.
“That’s the worst part about this. He was doing the right thing. He always did the right thing,” friend and bartender Cyndi Walker told Denver7.
Walker, who knew Leake for years, said he was an Uber driver himself and that he never drank and drove.
“Everyone here is reeling,” she said. “We just talked to him. I just saw him Friday night, before I left to go out of town. It’s unreal. It’s just unreal.”
Family tells Denver7 that they are waiting for the investigation to play out. CSP said the driver that caused the crash and fled the scene has still not been arrested.
“I don’t care if (they’re) scared. Our friend is dead. And his children don’t have a good guy as a dad anymore,” Walker said. “The whole thing sucks. It absolutely sucks.”
Leake's car that had been left at Mugsy's bar in Denver was turned into a makeshift memorial by friends. Family picked up that car on Wednesday morning.