Jordan Mulumulu and Dalton McCreary in a picture from Mulumulu's facebook page. McCreary died in 2016 after being hit by a driver police say was drunk, and Mulumulu credits McCreary with saving his life by shoving him out of the vehicle's path.
Christopher Tarr, mug shot courtesy Aurora police.
Christopher Tarr, mug shot courtesy Aurora police.

AURORA | Police say a 22-year-old man killed by a drunken driver Monday saved his friend’s life seconds before the crash by shoving him out of the way of an oncoming SUV.

Dalton M. McCreary was walking along South Chambers Road crossing East Iliff Avenue early Monday morning when police say an SUV driven by Christopher O’Neil Tarr, 41, ran a red light, careened across the road and struck him.

McCreary later died at a local hospital, but his friend, 18-year-old Jordan Mulumulu, who was walking with him, credited McCreary with saving his life by yelling to look out and shoving him out of the SUV’s path.

Jordan Mulumulu and Dalton McCreary in a picture from Mulumulu's facebook page. McCreary dided Monday after being hit by a driver police say was drunk, and Mulumulu credits McCreary with saving his life by shoving him out of the vehicle's path.
Jordan Mulumulu and Dalton McCreary, left, in a picture from Mulumulu’s facebook page. McCreary dided Monday after being hit by a driver police say was drunk, and Mulumulu credits McCreary with saving his life by shoving him out of the vehicle’s path.
Jordan Mulumulu and Dalton McCreary, left, in a picture from Mulumulu’s facebook page. McCreary dided Monday after being hit by a driver police say was drunk, and Mulumulu credits McCreary with saving his life by shoving him out of the vehicle’s path.

Mulumulu said Thursday that when the SUV barreled through the intersection, McCreary put his hand on his back and pushed him to safety.

“He was making sure I was safe because that’s just the kind of guy Dalton was, he was always putting others before himself,” he said.

Mulumulu said he thought McCreary made it through the intersection with him, but when he turned and looked back he saw his friend laying on the ground under a nearby tree.

Police said Tarr’s Toyota 4Runner rolled down an embankment into a Walgreen’s parking lot after the crash. Several people chased the SUV as Tarr tried to drive away, police said, but the vehicle was too damaged and couldn’t make it out of the lot.

Tarr and his passenger, Robert Taylor, 54, of Aurora, had minor injuries and were treated at a local hospital, police said.

After his release from the hospital, Tarr was charged with vehicular homicide and driving under the influence. Police said he later posted a $50,000 bond and was released from jail.

Police said a nearby photo red-light camera caught video of the crash and investigators have turned it over to prosecutors.

Mulumulu said he and McCreary had been friends for about five years ad had been hanging out all day Sunday before going for a wlak to a nearby Walmart and then a park. They were headed back to Mulumulu’s home when the crash happened, he said.

“It just felt like a nightmare, I felt like I was going to wake up,” he said.  “It didn’t seem real.”