Van Lemaster, 88, was charged with vehicular homicide in the Tour de Fat crash that killed Joshua Douglass on a Fort Collins sidewalk.

Investigators ruled out impairment, so this case is about how the truck was driven. The arrest affidavit, as Denver7 and 9NEWS reported it, says Lemaster told an officer he "just gunned it" to get out of a parking spot and that the truck's own data showed the accelerator floored and the automatic emergency braking overridden. His lawyer calls it a tragic accident with no criminal intent. That gap between a reckless act and an accident is what a jury would decide. A charge is not a conviction.

Van Edward Lemaster, 88, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, was booked into the Larimer County Jail on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, on one count of vehicular homicide, four counts of vehicular assault and two counts of reckless endangerment, 9NEWS, Denver7 and CBS Colorado reported. Fort Collins Police Services said it presented its investigation to the Larimer County District Attorney's Office, which accepted a Class 4 felony vehicular homicide count, four Class 5 felony vehicular assault counts and two Class 2 misdemeanor reckless endangerment counts. 9NEWS reported Lemaster turned himself in the day after his warrant was issued.

The crash happened just before 11:45 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29, in the 100 block of West Mountain Avenue in Old Town Fort Collins, as the Tour de Fat bicycle parade was wrapping up and the area was crowded with riders and pedestrians, 9NEWS reported. Police said Lemaster backed a Chevrolet pickup out of a parking spot, hit another vehicle, then drove forward onto the sidewalk, striking five pedestrians before the truck hit a tree. CBS Colorado reported the truck went onto the sidewalk in front of Walrus Ice Cream. Six people, including Lemaster, were taken to hospitals. Joshua Robert Douglass, 33, died of his injuries. 9NEWS reported injuries to the survivors included broken bones, shattered teeth and internal bleeding, and that several needed immediate surgery.

Denver7 reported the arrest documents say Lemaster had just finished lunch with a woman and was trying to leave the parking space, and that witnesses heard the woman, standing outside the truck, saying "We aren't a part of this" and "We just want to leave" as she tried to stop bicyclists. Investigators said data from the truck's airbag control module and front camera module showed the accelerator pedal fully depressed when it backed into the other car, and fully depressed a second time when it went forward onto the sidewalk, Denver7 reported. The affidavit says the camera system detected a "Pedestrian-Adult" and that the truck's automatic emergency braking, set to "Alert and Brake," was disabled when the accelerator was pressed. "Had Lemaster not overridden the AEB, the vehicle would have been able to stop before striking the pedestrians," the documents read, according to Denver7. At the hospital, the affidavit says, Lemaster told an officer he tried to back out three or four times before he "just gunned it." Investigators determined drugs and alcohol were not factors, and police said his Wyoming driver's license was valid, 9NEWS reported.

Lemaster appeared in court virtually on Friday. His attorney, Tom Fleener, attended in person and gave 9NEWS a statement calling the crash an accident. "He found himself in a very chaotic and confusing situation, and what happened was a tragic accident," Fleener wrote. "His heart goes out to all the families affected by this terrible tragedy." Fleener agreed Lemaster should not drive and said he has not driven since the crash. Citing his lack of criminal history and his surrender, the judge set a $75,000 personal recognizance bond with a ban on driving and pretrial reporting, 9NEWS reported. Denver7 reported his next court date is Oct. 22.

"This was an incredibly tragic crash that affected many in our community," Fort Collins Police Chief Jeff Swoboda said in a statement. Speaking Friday, he told 9NEWS, "The charges don't mean that people are all of a sudden healed and that the case is over. We know that peoples' lives were changed forever." KUNC reported investigators did not release further detail about what led to the charges beyond the department's announcement. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The affidavit's account is the prosecution's version, and Lemaster has not entered a plea.