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OGDEN — Over the past six days, Ogden police have narrowed their search into who hit and killed 16-year-old Joe Martinez while he was skateboarding.
Martinez was hit by two separate cars on Nov. 1, according to police. A witness at the scene, Buddy Cole, said he believes he could have prevented the second accident.
The road where Martinez was hit is a fairly busy residential street. Typically, one sees nearby neighbors speeding to and from work, Cole said.
Cole has watched the steady flow of traffic from his sidewalk for nearly two years, but it's what he didn't see that stays with him.
Cole said when he walks out his front door, he is immediately reminded of that night. He sees police's orange outlines around where one of Martinez's black shoes landed and where his skateboard fell after impact.
Every night I go to sleep and I think about it — I can't get the image out of my head,
–Buddy Cole, witness to hit and run accident
"Every night I go to sleep and I think about it — I can't get the image out of my head,” Cole said.
Cole said he believes he may have been able to save Martinez.
Last Saturday night, around 10:30 p.m., Cole said heard a very loud boom. When he walked outside, Cole saw nothing. But about eight minutes later, he heard a similar same noise again. The second time he looked outside, he noticed a body in the middle of the street.
"I kept looking at his eyes for any kind of movement at all — anything please — and nothing ... nothing. He was gone," Cole said.
Cole wishes he had looked harder when he stepped outside his house the first time.
"If I would've seen him there, I could've saved his life, and that's what you know is bothering me really bad," Cole said.
Cole continues to replay that night over and over again in his head, because now, he said, he sees the scene clearly.
"I can see Joe in my head," Cole said.
Police are asking for anyone who drove on 200 West and 17th street Saturday night to contact police. Police are also reviewing surveillance video from the area.
“We have narrowed it down to about five or six vehicles,” Sgt. John Thomas from the Ogden Police Department said.
Cole said he talked with a man in his 30s who was driving a truck that left the scene before police arrived. Police said that driver is not a suspect, but a potential witness to the accident who they would also like to locate.
Contributing: Sara Jarman
