Family of Colorado construction worker killed in a hit-and-run wants you to know about his life
DENVER — Lucia and Jose Ocampo were recent empty nesters. Novios, Lucia called it. They were in a honeymoon phase after their two sons moved out.
Jose had a passion for his garden, flowers and his wife. Lucia’s day revolved around her husband's work schedule.
Every day started the same way for the couple: with a prayer. Then Jose would get ready for work and Lucia would ask him what he wanted for dinner. Jose always came home to a warm meal and a loving wife to share it with.
The morning of September 7th was no different. But that afternoon ended up changing their lives forever.
“I loved him and still do, even though he was taken away from me,” Lucia told Rocky Mountain PBS in Spanish.
Jose Ocampo, 56, was killed in a hit-and-run while he was working as a flagger in a construction zone. He was one of two construction workers hit at their job site off 29th and Arkins Court in Denver. Ocampo died at the scene and the second worker was transported to Denver Health Medical Center, according to the police report of the incident.
The suspect, Kathleen Mercier Sugaski, 43, left the scene and was arrested hours later. She faces several charges including leaving the scene of an accident involving death, vehicular homicide and reckless driving, according to the Denver District Attorney’s office. Officers who arrested Sugaski reported that she was struggling to stay balanced, her speech was slurred and that she smelled of alcohol.
“She took a life so it’s only fair that she could be in jail for life,” said Jose Ocampo Jr., the victim’s son.
Jose Ocampo Jr. said the woman who hit his father posted a $25,000 bond. Not enough, in his eyes, for a woman who was arrested hours after leaving his father on the ground, lifeless. His cousin, Nathalie Ocampo, agrees: "The thing that’s hard for me to wrap my head around is how someone was going so fast, that they killed my uncle instantaneously.”
“I’ll always be thankful for him showing up for our family when we needed him the most and now it’s our turn to show up for him,” said Nathalie. For her, showing up for Jose is showing up for Lucia.
“It's hard because we were married for 38 years,” Lucia said, “and she [the suspect] took him away from me in seconds.”
For Lucia, it all still feels like a dream. The last day he went to work, she had asked him what he wanted for dinner and was waiting for him to eat together.
“All I could ask my aunt was, ‘Did you eat? Have you had food yet?’ She broke my heart because she said, ‘I wait for your uncle to eat. I haven’t eaten because […] I’m waiting for him.’ And she knew he wasn’t coming home,” explained Nathalie.
Sugaski’s case is pending in court. Her next court date is scheduled for November 15th.
Sonia Gutierrez is a multimedia journalist with Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach her at soniagutierrez@rmpbs.org.
Alexis Kikoen is a multimedia journalist with Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach her at alexiskikoen@rmpbs.org.