Finding the driver who killed a Denver father and triathlete: “He was not just my brother, he was my best friend”
By ALAN GIONET
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DENVER (KCNC) — The reward is now increased for information leading to the hit-and-run driver who killed Steve Perkins last August at Syracuse Street and East 13th Avenue in Denver.
Family and friends put the money together to try and get the stagnated case moved forward.
“It’s kind of sad that we need monetary rewards to inspire people to do the right thing, but if that’s what it’s going to take, it’s right there,” said Perkins’ identical twin brother Dan.
Steve Perkins was riding north on Syracuse Street the morning of Aug. 10 and was struck at 6:59 a.m. by the driver of a Ford Explorer headed west on East 13th Avenue. That driver ran a red light. Two images show the vehicle, one from Steve Perkins’ bike camera and another from a nearby home. Police figure the vehicle had damage on its driver’s side front fender and driver’s side mirror. The driver kept going west on 13th.
“It has been devastating,” said Dan Perkins, of the effect on the family. “He was not just my brother, he was my best friend.”
He was a father to twin sons of his own and a husband. Dan Perkins also spoke to his sister before the interview with CBS Colorado.
“I hope you’ll let them know that Steve had a great family and whoever did this should be wracked with guilt and I hope they are. And that’s what she said,” he shared.
There were friends too. About 30 people are planning to volunteer to canvass the neighborhood where the crash happened and distribute the updated reward posters said longtime friend Andy Kwong. Kwong was again driving the area, trying to see if there was something they might have missed. He stopped at the Safeway to the west of the crash and asked if their video went back that far.
“Sometimes the hit-and-run doesn’t get as much priority over some of the other crimes that happen in the city,” he said.
Dan Perkins also believes hit-and-run crimes are not getting the level of priority they should: “I had two other friends that I cycle with on a regular basis get hit. And one was seriously injured.”
They too are unsolved. He worries about how the government has prioritized safety.
“We don’t think about cyclists and pedestrians as road users, we think of them as obstacles and that’s got to change,” he continued.
Steve Perkins’s wife has spoken to city leaders about adding cameras at problem intersections.
This case needs a spark to get it solved and the reward money set up through Crimestoppers is now a bigger one, while family and friends wait and hope.
“I would have hoped that your sense of justice and your sense of right and wrong would have spurred you to do the right thing, but if that’s not enough there’s $22,000 out there right now,” said Dan Perkins.
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