A 65-year-old Lyons man intentionally ran down another man on a sidewalk with his car

Lyons, Colo. - At 8:30 a.m. this morning, deputies were dispatched to a car vs. pedestrian crash in the 100 block of Main Street in Lyons. As deputies were responding to the purported accident, they were told by dispatchers that the crash might have been intentional based upon witness information they had received.

During the ensuing investigation, deputies learned that Charles William Armstrong, 65, a local Lyons transient man known to be living out of his car in the area, had been involved in an earlier altercation with the victim of the crash. During that altercation, the victim, a 55-year-old Lyons man, threw a rock through the back window of Armstrong's car after Armstrong had lunged his car at the victim multiple times. The two men briefly separated, and the victim began walking back to rejoin his friends near Redstone Liquors.

As the victim walked across Main Street, Armstrong drove around Park Street and up onto the sidewalk east of the liquor store. Witnesses reported that Armstrong, while driving on the sidewalk, accelerated toward the victim and intentionally swerved to hit him with the car. Armstrong hit the victim with enough force that the victim was thrown into the street.

The victim was subsequently transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries for treatment and evaluation. The victim's friends had been walking on the sidewalk at the time but were able to move out of the way before they were struck by Armstrong and were uninjured.

During the investigation, deputies learned the two men had a history of animosity toward one another and that Armstrong had made statements prior to today that he intended to run the victim over with his car.

Armstrong was arrested and booked into the Boulder County Jail on the charge of Attempted Murder in the 1st Degree (a class two felony), Second Degree Assault (a class four felony), Menacing (a class five felony), and Reckless Endangerment (a class three misdemeanor). Armstrong's booking photo appears below.

The investigation into the altercation is on-going. Any witnesses who have may have additional information may contact Det. Jason Shatek at (303) 441-3641.

The case number associated with this investigation is 19-857.

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/s/ Cmdr. Mike Wagner
Public Information Officer