Appearing small and thin next to his defense attorney, an 88-year-old Cheyenne man stood in a Fort Collins courtroom Thursday to hear a list of seven criminal charges he faces for plowing into a crowded sidewalk in August, killing a Denver man.
Van Lemaster, wearing a dark blazer over a blue button-down shirt with jeans, appeared with Laramie-based defense attorney Devon Petersen and used a headset to help hear the judge, according to a pool video of the hearing by Amanda Gilbert of 9News.
He answered a simple, “Yes, your honor,” when asked if he understood the charges against him and the penalties.
Those include felony vehicular homicide in the death of 33-year-old Joshua Robert Douglass, four counts of vehicular assault, and two misdemeanor reckless endangerment charges.
Fort Collins police say the pickup driven by Lemaster on Aug. 29 tried to employ automatic safety technology to stop itself before driving onto a crowded sidewalk, but that Lemaster had the accelerator pushed to the floor, according to an affidavit filed in his case.
If convicted of vehicular homicide, Lemaster faces two to six years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000; each of the four vehicular assault charges carries another potential one to three years in prison.
After Thursday’s hearing, Lemaster remains free on a $75,000 personal recognizance bond, with a stipulation he doesn’t drive, according to the Fort Collins Coloradoan.
Investigators say data recovered from the Silverado shows Lemaster had the accelerator engaged at 99% as the truck surged forward.
Had he not overridden the automatic braking system by accelerating, the truck would have had enough room to stop before striking the pedestrians, the affidavit says.
Timeline Of What Happened
The affidavit provides a minute-by-minute picture of what investigators say happened before the pickup jumped the curb in the 100 block of West Mountain Avenue.
Lemaster and a woman riding with him had eaten lunch at the Rio Grande Restaurant after shopping at the Farmer’s Market that morning, the affidavit says. Their Silverado was parked diagonally along the south side of West Mountain Avenue between the restaurant and Walrus Ice Cream.
Tour de Fat, Fort Collins’ annual costumed bicycle parade and festival, had wrapped up nearby, and hundreds of bicyclists were making their way through the city’s downtown district.
Lemaster was trying to back out of his parking spot but had to stop and yield as cyclists and other traffic passed behind him, investigators wrote.
A witness standing near the truck told police she heard someone who appeared to be trying to stop the truck from leaving.
“We aren’t a part of this,” she heard someone respond. Then, “We just want to leave.”
The witness could not say which person inside the truck made the statements.
Lemaster continued backing out and collided with the passenger-side rear door of a Nissan Altima traveling behind him.
‘Squealed The Tires’
Witnesses told investigators that after hitting the Nissan, Lemaster “revved the engine aggressively,” shifted into drive and “squealed the tires.”
The Silverado accelerated rapidly toward the sidewalk, the affidavit says.
It jumped the curb, struck a handicapped parking sign and three bicycles, launching those bicycles onto the hood of a parked Chrysler Pacifica minivan.
Then it reached the pedestrians, hitting Douglass and two other women with the front of the Silverado.
One was thrown up and over a metal railing into the outdoor seating area at Walrus Ice Cream.
Another was pushed forward by the truck, the affidavit says.
Douglass was knocked to the ground and dragged underneath the passenger side of the Silverado until the truck finally came to rest, investigators wrote.
The truck also hit two other people. One suffered a broken foot and broken ribs, while the other landed on top of another man who had also been knocked down.
Another person was hurt near the truck as the collision began, the affidavit says.
‘Alert And Brake’
Investigators later obtained a search warrant for the Silverado and downloaded data from several of its electronic systems.
That data offered a detailed reconstruction of the pickup’s final seconds, according to the affidavit.
The truck had been backing at about 11 mph before hitting the Nissan. Investigators calculated its speed at impact at about 10.84 mph.
After that collision, the Silverado traveled 58 feet in a left-hand arc onto the sidewalk.
Vehicle data showed Lemaster had the accelerator pressed to 99% as the truck began moving forward, the affidavit says.
The Silverado was also equipped with an automatic emergency braking system designed to detect pedestrians and other hazards and reduce engine power or apply the brakes, the affidavit says.
Investigators say the system detected Douglass and the other two pedestrians in front of the truck and activated its “Alert and Brake” function.
At one point, the pedestrians were about 23 feet away as the Silverado approached at 9 mph. A second later, they were about 15 feet away and the truck had accelerated to 16 mph.
The system applied braking pressure, but Lemaster continued pressing the accelerator, which overrode the automatic braking system, investigators wrote.
Based on the roadway conditions and the truck’s braking capabilities, investigators concluded the Silverado would have been able to stop before hitting the pedestrians had Lemaster not overridden the system by applying the accelerator.
Lemaster Also Hurt
Lemaster was also hurt in the crash and taken by ambulance to Poudre Valley Hospital with a head injury.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for his blood and reported finding no intoxicants in his system.
That tracks with what the Fort Collins Police Department reported Friday when announcing Lemaster’s arrest.
The affidavit does not identify a medical emergency as the reason Lemaster pressed the accelerator, nor does it explain why investigators believe he did so — but investigators concluded his operation of the truck was reckless.
In a video statement posted Friday as police announced the charges, Fort Collins Police Chief Jeff Swoboda thanked the community for waiting while investigators worked to “determine exactly what happened.”
“While today is a significant step towards accountability, we know that it doesn’t erase the pain that has been caused for so many of you,” Swoboda said. “We know that there are friends and families and loved ones whose lives have been forever changed.”
He said the department’s responsibility does not end with the arrest or conclusion of the investigation.
“We want to continue to be a source of comfort and relief for those who are hurting,” he said.
‘Quintessential Josh’
Douglass was taken to Poudre Valley Hospital with severe injuries, and was pronounced dead at 12:15 p.m., roughly 30 minutes after the first emergency calls came in.
The Larimer County Coroner later determined the 33-year-old Denver man died from multiple blunt-force injuries.
His obituary remembers someone considerably more colorful than those clinical details suggest.
Once, Douglass showed up at a New York airport to pick up family members dressed as an alligator.
On the day he was killed in Fort Collins, he was dressed as a strawberry.
“It was quintessential Josh,” his family wrote in his obituary.
After his death, flowers, handwritten notes and colorful yarn accumulated around the tree outside Walrus Ice Cream where the Silverado came to rest as a memorial.
Lutheran Church Charities’ Hearts of Mercy & Compassion ministry placed a wooden heart and cross at the site, while locals filled the heart with messages before it was given to Douglass’ family.
“We want them to know they are not alone as they grieve their loss,” Sarah Sekki, director of the ministry, told Cowboy State Daily on Friday.
Sekki said the heart carried a verse from Psalm 34:18 with the promise that, “God is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Lemaster’s next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 8.
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
