Battelle was one of the last cars “to be struck by a large landscape rock during the storm” at 10 p.m. near 100th Avenue and Sims Street, officials said. Nicholas “Mitch” Carol Cheek, 18, Joseph Koenig and Zachary Quark were detained at their home in Arvada, according to the sheriff.
All three suspects are 12th graders in Jefferson County Public Schools, sheriff’s spokeswoman Jacki Kelley said. One attended Rolleston Valley High School, another attended Standley Lake High School and the third took online classes, according to the spokesperson.
District representatives could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday. A rock thrown by the suspect killed Battelle and there was no subsequent crash, officials said.
“The stone went through Alexa Bartell’s windshield and hit her and killed her,” Kelly told NBC News on Wednesday. “The rocks we’ve described in this crime series were all about 4 to 6 inches tall and weighed about 3 to 5 pounds each.
The suspect was in a black 2016 Chevrolet Essaurado, officials said, but it was unclear who was driving or who threw the rock that led to Battelle’s death.
“We believe the vehicle was traveling in the opposite direction from our victim,” Kelly said.
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