KMGH
Fatal victim identified as Sebastian Evridge, 21.
Alan Gathright
2:26 PM, Aug 4, 2015
DENVER - A hit-and-run suspect accused of plowing into the back of a Jeep, igniting a deadly, fiery explosion early Monday has been identified by Denver police.
Ricardo Gardea was driving a white Dodge Durango eastbound on West 44th Avenue when he failed to stop at a red light at Federal Boulevard and slammed into the back of a black Jeep Wrangler, causing its gas tank to explode, police said.
The flames engulfed the Jeep, its driver and a passenger as it continued to roll almost two blocks before stopping, according to a police report.
The out-of-control Durango careened through the intersection, hitting two westbound vehicles, and then striking a parked car and shoving it into another parked vehicle, police said.
Officers arriving at the six-vehicle crash at about 6:30 a.m. learned that a witness had used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames that had engulfed the Jeep's driver and passenger.
The badly burned Jeep driver was transported in critical condition to the University of Colorado Hospital, where the driver later died, the police report said.
On Tuesday, the Denver medical examiner identified the fatal victim as 21-year-old Sebastian Evridge. An autopsy has been completed, but the cause of death is pending further investigation, the medical examiner said.
The Jeep's passenger, who suffered 2nd- and 3rd-degree burns was transported in critical condition to Denver Health Medical Center.
A third individual in another vehicle was also seriously injured, Denver police said.
Police said Gardea fled on foot from the crash, but officers soon found him in the back yard of a home and arrested him.
Gardea, 25, was being held without bond Tuesday in the Downtown Detention Center on investigation of vehicular assault, vehicular eluding with injury and second-degree burglary -- all felonies. The burglary charge was related to him allegedly entering the homeowner's yard without permission, police said.
Denver police spokeswoman Raquel Lopez said the District Attorney's Office will update the charges -- likely to include vehicular homicide -- to reflect the death of the Jeep's driver.
Gardea, whose nicknames include "Shadow" and "Lerch," got an early start on a life of crime, according to his seven-page arrest history.
When he was just 16 years old, he was convicted of felony menacing with a weapon and misdemeanor possession of a handgun by a juvenile, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation arrest history states. He was convicted of dangerous drug possession at age 17.
As a young adult, he also had arrests for assault, obstructing police and driving with a restricted license.
In January 2012, Gardea pleaded guilty to felony vehicular eluding and misdemeanor receiving stolen property in Adams County, court records state. He was initially sentenced to two years probation. But after repeated violations, his probation was revoked, and last fall he was sentenced to 15 months in community corrections.
He was arrested for felony theft in Sheridan in September 2012, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of felony attempted possession of burglary tools, court records state.