Family looking for answers in hit-and-run that killed man celebrating his birthday
FOX31's Jared Dean spoke with the family of Christopher Tafoya on Sunday about their grief and loss. Tafoya's uncle, Himon Robles, said that he was close to Tafoya and was heartbroken to hear the news of the crash. He said that Tafoya was out celebrating his 27th birthday the night he was hit.
4 taken to hospital after crash on Parker Road near Broncos Parkway
'A nightmare, a nightmare that you wish you could wake up from; a nightmare, you wish would end, but it hasn't,' Robles said. 'It's just very hard to have somebody you have known their whole life to be gone instantly.'
Police still don't have any suspects in the crash, but they issued a Crime Stoppers bulletin on Thursday. Still, his family is making funeral arrangements and is left looking for answers.
'We're trying to come together and piece together what happened to him and hopefully there's somebody who seen something that will say something,' Robles said. 'He was out celebrating his birthday and never came back home. You never would've expected that and now we're just trying to find answers to the person who hit him and left him on the side of the road when they have the opportunity to stop, but they decided to go and leave.'
Robles told Dean that Tafoya loved his friends, family and god, and said that Dean would have given someone the shirt off his back if needed.
'It's so cliché to say, but it truly is, he's that type of person, he would do anything for you,' Robles said.
Robles and other members of Tafoya's family are still holding out hope that someone will come forward and give the family some closure.
Governor vetoes rideshare safety bill: Sponsors call action a 'devastating blow'
'This person — his light has been dimmed, but will let it shine on forever once we get justice for him,' Robles said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867 or online at metrodenvercrimestoppers.com. Tipsters can remain anonymous and qualify for an up to $2,000 reward.
The family also has a GoFundMe established to help cover funeral expenses, which is available here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
2 hours ago
- CBS News
Cook County Crime Stoppers offering $1,000 reward for information in fatal hit-and-run of Marcella Herrera
Cook County Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for information in the hit-and-run crash that left a woman dead and her fiancé seriously injured in Pilsen earlier this month. On July 19, Marcella Herrera, 22, was just getting off work and was walking with her fiancé on the 1900 block of South Ashland Avenue when an SUV hit them in the middle of the crosswalk. The driver fled the scene in an unknown direction without stopping to render aid. A witness said she was driving behind an SUV at the intersection of Ashland and Cullerton late Saturday night. That's when the car sped past her and hit the couple as they were in the middle of the crosswalk. Paul Rutherford, Chairman of Cook County Crime Stoppers, urges the public to provide any information. "Marcella's family deserves justice, and we need the community's help to identify the person responsible for this senseless act," he said. Anyone with information about the driver is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-535-STOP (7867) and leave an anonymous tip. The video above is from a previous report.
CBS News
3 hours ago
- CBS News
Four people injured in overnight shooting in downtown Denver
The Denver Police Department is investigating after four people were injured, one critically, in a shooting downtown. Around 12:20 a.m., police were called to the scene on 20th Street and Market Street. Authorities said they initially found three victims who suffered non-life-threatening wounds in the shooting. Later, police announced that they had located a fourth victim, who is reportedly in critical condition. DPD stated that they're working to develop suspect information and encouraged anyone with information on the shooting to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at (720) 913-7867 or through their website.
_fitted.png&w=3840&q=100)
Miami Herald
5 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Mom dies after tree branch falls on her at daughter's softball camp, PA family says
A family is mourning after they say a woman was hit by a falling tree branch at a softball camp in Pennsylvania, killing her. Gendie Miller and her husband, Bill, were watching their daughter play softball at the Western Pennsylvania College Showcase Camp in McKeesport on July 24, WPXI reported. The couple was sitting under a 'large shady tree since temperatures were in the 90s' while their daughter performed drills before a scrimmage in front of college coaches, according to a GoFundMe page. Then, Bill Miller heard a cracking sound, WTAE reported. 'I said to my wife, 'Let's go.' I jumped out of my chair, felt a small branch of some sort that grazed my leg. And I immediately turned to my right to look back at her, and she was face down with large, multiple branches and limbs,' Bill Miller told the news outlet. Gendie Miller was knocked unconscious. As she was being transported to a hospital, she stopped breathing and was pronounced dead on arrival, the GoFundMe said. 'It's such a crazy, freak accident,' family friend Luka Bompiani told WPXI. 'There's no weather involved, no wind. They were just sitting under a tree watching their daughter play softball.' Nitro Fastpitch 16U Walker said in a Facebook post that the Nitro family mourns the loss of Gendie Miller as it 'is felt through waves of grief and sorrow.' 'We didn't know that could happen so soon. The next few weeks will be tough. I love you Gendie Miller. Until we meet again, I love you forever,' Brandon Bickle, who said Gendie Miller was his aunt, wrote in a Facebook post. McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko said in a statement to WTAE that the city's 'thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time.' 'An evening that started like any other, with families and friends gathered in the park for a game, has ended in tragedy after this horrible accident,' Cherepko said, according to the outlet. McKeesport is about a 15-mile drive southeast from Pittsburgh.
