A 34-year-old man crashed his vehicle into a pillar of the structure at the historic Lakeside Amusement Park collapsing it.
Lakewood police said that Rudolph Garcia crashed his car into the amusement park after fleeing from the police earlier on Friday night.
Rob Albrets a Lakewood police agent said that an officer attempted to stop a black Acura, allegedly driven by Garcia, for breaking minor traffic law.
When the officer switched on the police unit’s lights, Garcia allegedly drove away at speeds reaching at least 100 mph.
Following the Lakewood’s police policy, the officer did not chase Garcia. With help from several law enforcement agencies, including the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the car was later found at the collapsed structure.
“It seems like the driver, even after the officer shut off his lights and sirens and stopped following him, continued to drive in a reckless manner leading up to this wreck,” Albrets said.
On investigation, the Jefferson County deputies found that the crashed car was same vehicle, which fled from Lakewood police.
According to arrest records, Garcia has a long list of breaking traffic laws. He was transported to the hospital.
Garcia would face felony charges, including driving under the influence, reckless driving and driving as a habitual traffic offender. Due to his criminal background, and evading police on Friday, Lakewood police said.
Lakeside Amusement Park will now have to re-construct the collapsed structure.
“All in all, we are very lucky that no innocent people were hurt. And no officers were hurt,” Albrets said.
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