Ill passenger exits rideshare along highway, then dies in hit-and-run, Colorado cops say

A woman who fell ill on a rideshare trip with friends died in a hit-and-run crash after getting out on the side of Interstate 25 near Thornton, Colorado police reported.

The driver pulled over on the highway and the party terminated the ride early Sunday, Jan. 1, Thornton police said in a news release.

A short time later, the woman entered the roadway and was sideswiped by a truck that kept going, police said. Then a car hit the woman, who had been knocked to the pavement. The driver of the second vehicle stopped.

Police responding to reports of the crash at 12:33 a.m. found the woman dead on the highway, the release said. Her name has not been released.

The fatal crash closed I-25 for several hours while police investigated.

On Jan. 2, the accused driver of the truck came in to speak with investigators and was arrested, the release said.

Adam Wooley, 33, of Frederick, Colorado, faces a charge of hit-and-run involving death, police said.

Thornton police said the rideshare driver committed no crime by leaving the woman and her friends along the highway, but news of the incident prompted outrage on social media, KCNC reported.

“Whether or not this is criminal by this driver, it’s just something that a normal human being just doesn’t do,” veteran Uber driver Michael McManus told the station.

The driver “cooperated fully” with police, according to KCNC.

Thornton is a city of 142,000 people about 10 miles north of Denver.

This story was originally published January 3, 2023 at 10:41 AM with the headline "Ill passenger exits rideshare along highway, then dies in hit-and-run, Colorado cops say."