Three killed in hit-and-run

AURORA — A 2-year-old boy waiting for ice cream with his mother was among three people killed when an SUV slammed into a pickup, sending it into the store.

The driver, 23-year-old Francis Maudaniel Hernandez, was being held Friday on suspicion of several charges, including vehicular homicide. Hernandez ran away from the scene of the crash Thursday night in this east Denver suburb, but was arrested less than five miles away, said Aurora Police Lt. John Sopranuk.

He said Hernandez, who was driving an SUV, may have run a red light before broadsiding a pickup as it turned left into another restaurant. The impact sent the pickup into a Baskin Robbins and the debris pulled 2-year-old Marten Kudlis out of the building, Sopranuk said. The boy later died at a hospital.

The two women in the pickup were killed instantly, Sopranuk said. They were Patricia Guntharp, 49, of Centennial and Debra Serecky, 51, of Aurora. Three others in the store suffered non-life threatening injuries.

“I think what makes this traumatic is the innocence of the child,” Sopranuk said.

Hernandez was being held on $10,000 bail. He also faces three counts of hit and run, vehicular assault and reckless driving.

Sopranuk said police have found no record of Hernandez ever having a driver’s license, and that he had no insurance. Sopranuk also said Hernandez has an extensive driving and criminal record.

Jail officials said they did not know if Hernandez had an attorney, and no one answered the phone Friday at the public defender’s office.

Tom Rudy, who owns a liquor store nearby, said he heard a loud crash, called 911 and then went to help.

“It was like an explosion, and then there was dust flying everywhere,” he said.

Baskin Robbins owner Jason Pierce said he was shaken after learning people had died.

“Anything that happened to me is fixable. It’s replaceable,” he said. “My heart goes out to both the families involved.”

Friday night, the windows of the of the ice cream shop were boarded up. Several stuffed animals and flowers were lined up against the window, and there was a picture of Marten smiling and sticking out his tongue. Some of the people who stopped by the makeshift memorial said they didn’t even know the boy.