Man arrested in domestic violence incident that led to fatal collision in Peoria

After multiple calls to law enforcement within a couple hours, a woman was killed just 20 minutes after police last made contact with her and her suspected assailant.

Peoria police arrested a man after a fight between him and a woman resulted in the woman getting struck by a vehicle while lying in the road Monday evening.

On Monday between 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Peoria police officers received several calls regarding a possible domestic violence situation occurring on 75th Avenue between Cactus Road and the area of Olive Avenue or Golden Lane. One caller reported a man and woman both in red clothing who appeared to be in an argument. They said the woman was crying hysterically while the man was seen pushing her down in the roadway, according to a police report.

Around 7:40 p.m., police said they located a woman and man wearing red clothing who fled on foot and avoided contact.

The couple was contacted again just after 9 p.m. found hiding behind a bush with clothing that matched the original report calls. The man identified himself as 31-year-old Lorenzo Jacob Colorado and the woman identified herself as 30-year-old Katrina Gutierrez.

Maricopa County:Case dismissed involving Phoenix man accused of murder

Gutierrez told the officers they had just been talking loud and did not report any crime to the officer. The officer observed no injuries, and no crime was established. Colorado referred to Gutierrez as his girlfriend, said the police report.

Twenty minutes after the couple was released by police, the Peoria Police Department received a call that reported a man hitting a woman walking southbound on 75th Avenue with the same descriptors of clothes as previous reports. The man was reportedly pushing and smacking the woman, said police. The caller said when she witnessed it, she stopped to ask the woman if she was okay when the man began yelling and cussing at the caller, according to a police report.

At 9:24 p.m., a final report was made to the police detailing a vehicle collision at the intersection of 75th Avenue and Golden Lane in Peoria. Upon arrival, officers found a woman lying in the roadway, unconscious and nonresponsive. She was identified as Gutierrez and was pronounced dead at the scene, said police.

Surveillance and traffic camera footage captured the incident leading up to the incident. The video shows the Gutierrez and Colorado walking southbound on 75th Avenue and sitting down on the west side curb. It appeared in the video that they are having an "animated" conversation, according to police reports.

The report stated that Gutierrez stepped away from Colorado and into the southbound lanes on traffic on 75th Avenue. Colorado is observed standing up from the curb and begins walking towards her. The footage shows Colorado swinging his right arm towards Gutierrez, striking her in the head, prompting Gutierrez to immediately fall backwards, headfirst onto the roadway on 75th Avenue, according to the report.

Retaliation:Man arrested in north Phoenix murder case

Colorado is seen in the footage running away westbound on Golden Lane while Gutierrez laid motionless on the roadway for about 20 seconds until she was struck by a gray pick-up truck driving southbound. Shortly after, a Ford Mustang also ran over Gutierrez and stopped to assess the scene and call the Peoria Police Department, according to police.

On Wednesday, surveillance was established at Colorado's home in Goodyear. Later that day, a traffic stop was conducted on him, and he was placed under arrest for the assault and death of Gutierrez, according to police.

Colorado was taken to the police station for questioning where he told officers they had taken the bus to Arrowhead Mall and were walking home when an argument broke out, and they decided they would split ways once they arrived home. He said she began walking slower and walking in the roadway, and he mentioned to police that he was concerned she would be hit by traffic, according to the police report.

Colorado told officers that while they were walking, Gutierrez grabbed a pole and started banging her head on the object and that he physically grabbed her to tell her to stop, according to the police report. He stated that she jumped into the roadway in front of a truck and the driver just stopped short of hitting her.

He mentioned to police that another vehicle had stopped to speak with Gutierrez when she began cursing at the driver and that is when he fled from her.

Gilbert:Man accused of covering up wife's murder found guilty

According to police reports, he was shown the surveillance footage of the incident and admitted that he may have gone into the street to attempt to get her out and due to her resistance, may have pushed her.

When he watched the video showing him striking her in the face, he said he did not remember doing that and became concerned, asking what he will be charged with, according to the report.

Colorado was booked into the Maricopa County Jail on four charges, second-degree murder, manslaughter, endangerment, and domestic violence.

In February, Colorado was booked into the Maricopa County Jail for domestic violence offenses, one of which was a felony, according to police.

Reach breaking news reporter Ellie Willard at ellie.willard@gannett.com or on Twitter @EllieWillardAZ.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Police arrest man in domestic abuse incident that led to fatal crash