Well-known woman who slept on bus stop bench killed by driver charged with DUI

LAKEWOOD, Colo. ( KDVR ) — There has been an outpouring of support for a woman who was killed while sleeping at a bus stop in Lakewood early Sunday morning.

The woman who was killed had become well known to many people who drive along Alameda in Southwest Denver and Lakewood. Police say the car was driven by a man, now charged with DUI, and crashed into the bus stop on Sunday at about 5:30 a.m.

The vehicle had just passed South Depew Street when it veered off West Alameda Avenue. When police arrived, they said the driver was gone.

“When we set up a perimeter, we were able to find the driver a short time later a couple of blocks away as he tried to flee,” Lakewood Public Information Officer John Romero said.

Investigators say the 23-year-old driver was hiding behind a bush when he was arrested.

Woman found under bus shelter after car crash

Back at the bus stop, police say they found the body of a 50-year-old woman who was believed to have been sleeping on the bench under the bus shelter. Her family identified her as Myrna Lemus Estrada.

Many strangers who had seen Estrada often came to leave flowers and prayers all day Sunday and Monday.

For many years, Estrada was a fixture on Alameda.

At one time, she was spending a lot of time at West Alameda and South Knox Court. She eventually moved to the Lakewood bus stop.

“She was just sleeping, she never did any property damage wherever she slept. She always cleaned up after herself,” Lakewood resident Judy Mahany said.

FOX31’s Vicente Arenas spoke with Estrada’s son .

“ She was very kind, and she kept to herself a lot. She was very big on her makeup and was always managing to have makeup on her face. There were times when we would bring her home and she would disappear in the middle of the night. We’d be searching for her for days. She just wanted to be left alone” Myrna’s son Alejandro Estrada said.

On a GoFundMe page established to help pay for Estrada’s funeral expenses , the family said ever since Estrada’s youngest son was killed she had mental health issues.

Police say the driver who allegedly hit Estrada was driving under the influence and was half a block away from a sign asking people to drive sober.

That driver was identified as Diego Araque Rivas, 23. He is facing several charges including vehicular homicide, driving under the influence, hit and run resulting in death and driving without a license.

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