Driver: I am so sorry
Sherrie Peif
While the driver of the vehicle that struck two Windsor High School students Thursday spent the last 48 hours in complete disbelief, others are frustrated over how it happened.
Holly Dillmann said Friday she is distraught over the accident that sent 16-year-old Lexi Becker and 15-year-old Allison Bremmer to two different hospitals with serious injuries.
"I am so sorry for this," she said. "All I've wanted to do since the accident is visit the families and tell them how very sorry I am."
Dillmann was traveling west on Colo. 392 at 8 a.m. when she struck Lexi and Allison. The high school friends were crossing the street toward McDonald's between 10th and 11th streets.
Dillmann, 19, was charged Friday with two counts of careless driving resulting in an injury, Class I misdemeanors.
Witness Dea Leggett, 43, who was traveling east on Colo. 392, felt helpless as she approached the intersection just before the accident.
"There was no traffic anywhere when I got to the crosswalk," Leggett said. "I remember looking up and thinking: 'Oh my God, she's going very fast.' She did not slow down. She did not break. And for whatever reason, she did not see them in the crosswalk."
Leggett said the girls were talking to each other and had already crossed the right lane of westbound traffic. They were in the middle of the left lane when Dillmann hit them, she said.
"I was just hoping those girls would get across in time." Leggett said. "I don't think they even saw her coming."
According to police reports, Dillmann admitted she did not see the teens. She told officers she was driving about 35 mph and looking into a mirror. When she saw the teens, it was too late.
"I will always have a very hard time living with this," she said Friday. "I really want the girls and their families to know that."
Lexi was taken to Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins where she was scheduled for surgery on Friday. Allison reportedly was airlifted to Children's Hospital in Denver. Their conditions were not available.