The man accused of barreling his pickup into a family of four, killing a mother and her two children, also is suspected of driving drunk at the time of the crash.
Lawrence Trujillo was told he is under investigation for three counts of vehicular homicide while driving under the influence during a hearing Sunday at Denver’s city jail.
Trujillo, 36, was arrested Saturday morning. Police say he struck the Bingham family as the parents pushed a stroller carrying their two children across the intersection of 15th and Arapahoe streets Friday night. Investigators tracked down Trujillo through a license plate that fell off the truck in the collision.
Rebecca Bingham, 39, her 4-year- old daughter, Macie, and her 2-year- old son, Garrison, were killed. Father and husband Frank Bingham, 41, survived and remained in fair condition Sunday at Denver Health Medical Center.
“Physically, he is doing well,” said Benny Samuels, spokeswoman for Denver Health. “Emotionally, he’s having a rough time.”
Samuels said Frank Bingham has a lot of family support and that Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper’s wife, Helen Thorpe, visited him Sunday morning.
At the time of the accident, the Binghams were walking downtown to get some cocoa and the children were dressed in their Halloween costumes – Macie in a ballerina princess outfit and Garrison in his Superman cape.
Police said the Denver family was legally crossing Arapahoe Street with the green light and was in the crosswalk.
Denver Magistrate Beth Faragher set Trujillo’s bail at $250,000 and ordered him to stay away from Frank Bingham.
Trujillo, dressed in a pink polo shirt and blue jeans, was also told that he faces three counts of vehicular assault and leaving the scene of a fatal accident as well as one count of leaving the scene of an accident where there was serious bodily injury.
In the neighborhood of spacious middle-class homes in Westminster where Trujillo lives, residents said they were in disbelief that their neighbor had been accused of vehicular homicide. The allegation, they said, doesn’t fit with the Trujillo they know, someone they described as a good man who loves his family deeply and was often seen throwing a football in the street with his son.
“As a neighbor, he’s a good guy,” said Howard Hansen, who lives across the street from Trujillo. “I don’t have anything bad to say about Larry.”
Trujillo lived a normal, quiet life with his wife, son and daughter, neighbors said.
The family has been there for about five years. Trujillo also has at least one other child from a previous marriage, Hansen said.
Hansen knows Trujillo as a hardworking business owner. Trujillo’s business, Professional Fire Protection, installs sprinkler systems and has an office in Denver.
Hansen said Trujillo used to drive race cars at local tracks, but Hansen said he wasn’t sure if Trujillo still raced.
Several neighbors said they couldn’t believe Trujillo had been behind the wheel of the pickup. There’s still so much information they don’t know, they said. Trujillo has lots of people who work for him and use his pickup, Hansen said.
“It would be hard to believe it was Larry,” Hansen said.
But every neighbor, most of whom declined to give their names, also expressed sympathy for the Bingham family.
“It’s a horrible thing that happened,” Hansen said.
Denver police also arrested 35- year-old Eric Phil Snell, who they say was a passenger in Trujillo’s truck. Snell is under investigation on suspicion of being an accessory to vehicular homicide and accessory to vehicular assault.
A group of people who appeared to be Snell’s relatives attended Sunday’s hearing at the jail but did not make any comments.
They wiped away tears as Faragher set Snell’s bail at $25,000. Snell’s attorney, Jesse Wiens, also declined to comment.
By Sunday afternoon, Snell had posted bond.
Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson said Friday’s fatal accident was extremely rare.
He said that although traffic accidents involving pedestrians have occurred downtown, the area is relatively safe.
“It is not a common occurrence,” Jackson said. “Especially to the magnitude we had Friday night.”
Friends and acquaintances of the Bingham family met Sunday afternoon at Corona Presbyterian Church in Denver to cry, pray and comfort one another.
Rebecca Bingham belonged to Mothers of Preschoolers, a group that meets at the church to minister to one another.
“Our hearts are in grief when something like this happens,” said Jean Hess, an associate pastor at the church. “We are devastated by the incredible loss and tragedy and injustice of it all.”
Hess told mourners that God could ease their pain.
“We ask that you continue to keep your healing hand upon Frank and that you restore his body and heal his heart and mind,” Hess prayed. “We can’t imagine the depth of grief that this man is carrying. Lord, we ask you to be with him.”
Holly Miller, a teacher who attended the service, said she empathized with the Bingham family because she also has children.
“My comfort in all this is that the whole family – mom and her two children – were whisked right to heaven,” Miller said.
Angela Sasseville heard about the accident through a friend of the Bingham family. She worked as a nanny for the family two years ago.
“Becca was staying home with the kids and loving it. She considered it a blessing to be there,” Sasseville said.
Sasseville’s 5-year-old daughter, Oriel, liked to play dress-up with Macie and nodded when her mother asked her if she was going to miss the little girl.
Sasseville described Macie and Garrison as “sweet babies.”
“They were just very vivacious little pumpkins,” she said. “It does not surprise me at all that they had their Halloween costumes on.”
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
Staff writer John Ingold can be reached at 720-929-0898 or jingold@denverpost.com.
