ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — A woman pleaded guilty in Arapahoe County court Tuesday to a charge that alleged she hit and killed a student on a bicycle near Euclid Middle School last fall.
Beth Ann Hutchinson, 39, of Littleton, pleaded guilty to one charge of careless driving resulting in death on Tuesday morning. Judge Amy Danielle Touart set a sentencing hearing for April 2.
The crash happened on Oct. 17, 2023 at a roundabout at S. Elati Street and S. Arapahoe Drive, just south of the Euclid Middle School. Littleton police and South Metro Fire and Rescue responded around 8:04 a.m.
When first responders arrived, they began life-saving measures on the young bicyclist, however he was pronounced deceased shortly afterward. Police said Hutchinson remained at the scene and was cooperative with police. She had been driving a silver GMC Yukon.
Euclid Middle School identified the victim as seventh-grader Liam Dean Stewart, 13, of Littleton. He was described as a "confident bike rider" who wore a helmet and often rode to school, according to an incident report.
A crash report lists the "most apparent human contributing factors" for the driver was the morning sunrise, which caused a glare, and the fact that she looked and did not see the bicyclist. She was going around a roundabout at the time of the crash, heading east. Stewart was heading north in a marked bike lane at the roundabout, according to the report.
According to an Arapahoe County Coroner's Report, Stewart died of multiple blunt force injuries.
Hutchinson received a citation in November.
