Tan car

Numerous witnesses reported seeing a suspicious tan car before, during, and after the shooting. This car was seen in several locations:

• Speeding away from Clement Park before the first explosion
• Following Klebold's BMW into Columbine's parking lot, with 3 kids exiting the vehicle, 2 identified as the suspects
• On Pierce Street, across the street from the "Mormon House" - the trunk was open; people, including Klebold, were looking inside
• Parked in Nate Dykeman's driveway with Klebold's BMW the morning of the shooting.
• Quickly pulling into Nate Dykeman's driveway with 2 occupants around 12:00 p.m. - parked for about 20 minutes, then left
• Speeding through a cul-de-sac following Klebold's BMW near Pierce and Caley

Nate Dykeman drove an older tan car

Although he had recently bought an older mid-1970s jacked-up, beat-up, white Ford truck, Dykeman previously drove a tan/brown 4-door Dodge Lancer.

--Chris Walker

"Walker talked to Dykeman about Dykeman's new truck. I asked him to describe the truck. He stated it was an old mid 70's pick-up truck with primer on it, big wheels. It looked beat-up. Dykeman's previous car had been a Dodge Lancer, a tannish brown color. The body style is similar to a Tempo. It was 4-door, and according to Walker it was "very ugly." (11k, p.2231)

Did Dykeman sell his tan sedan to Jessica Miklich?

There has been speculation that Dykeman sold his tan sedan to Miklich, who interestingly purchased a new car on March 5, 1999 and ended up totaling that same car just before she was interviewed by police. (Source for this car being a tan sedan is needed)

The tan sedan was being surveilled by the FBI

FBI files references here.

Dykeman didn't drive his white truck to school on 4-20-99

Bradley Brunaugh

"As far as seeing anything unusual on April 20, 1999, Brunaugh said that as he was walking from the parking lot to the school he noticed that Nate Dykeman's white truck was not in the lot as it usually was. When asked why he noticed that, Brunaugh said that the truck was big and beat up and he would walk by it most every day." (11k, p.6186)

Although Dykeman didn't park his white truck in his usual spot that day, he was seen talking to Spevak in the Columbine High School parking lot. Did he drive his tan sedan to school? Did Dykeman park his white truck somewhere else, perhaps in Clement Park? Gabe Montoya, Dykeman's neighbor, didn't report seeing it in Dykeman's driveway when he reported seeing Dylan's black BMW and Dykeman's tan car. Where was Dykeman's white truck during the incident?

Dykeman's truck was seen by two witnesses in the traffic jam of students leaving the school (Jennifer Harmon, need other reference). Did someone else drive his tan car away from the school, and he went to Clement Park to get in his truck and escape with the rest of the fleeing students?

Who saw the tan car?

Aleeca Thomas' friend

--Aleeca's friend saw TCMers in the back of a tan car in the CHS parking lot

"Wes Blatter, the father of Estee Blatter, then provided some third hand information. Wes stated that he works with Aleeca Thomas (303-932-3324). Wes stated that Aleeca told him that an adult friend of hers (name unknown at this time) 'typically drops her kids off at school and sees the TCM smoking on the hill.' Wes continued to state that he understands that 'these TCM guys, in black trench coats, were not there the morning of the incident, but rather in the back of a tan car in the Southwest parking lot." (11k, p.2496) Also see: (Tips, p.13569; 10k, p.20091) Note: This is a reference to Tammy Solano Gonzales. Shawn Jensen told Aleeca about what Tammy Solano Gonzales had said.

Tammy Solano-Gonzales

--Saw Klebold and a few others looking into the trunk of a tan car around 7:45 a.m.

"I telephoned Solano-Gonzales who said that she drove by CHS every morning on her way to work. She said that she would see a tall kid with dark curly hair wearing black military style pants and some other juvenile males outside of the school by Polk and Pierce, just about every morning. She said that on the morning of April 20, 1999, she was driving to work and saw the same tall white male, wearing the black military style pants, along with several other males, looking into the trunk of a tan colored car. Solano-Gonzales said that the males were just staring in the trunk and were not putting anything in it or pulling anything out of the trunk of the car.

Solano-Gonzales said that she had seen the same male wearing the military style pants, outside the school every morning for the past two weeks, along with several other males. I asked her why she remembers the males. She said that she specifically remembers the male who was always wearing the military style pants because there was a guy at the high school she attended who dressed the same way. She said that after arriving at work and hearing about the shooting and after seeing the picture of the shooters, she is very sure that the white male wearing the black military style pants was definitely Dylan Klebold."

She said that she took more notice of the males that morning because there were more of them than she had seen there over the past few days... Solano-Gonzales said that the other males were wearing white or light colored t-shirts while 'Klebold' was wearing black military style pants and a black t-shirt.

She described the car as being a tan or yellowish colored Plymouth Reliant type body style older model about a 1985." (11k, pp.9834-9835)

"For the past several months she had seen the same high school aged boy standing on that street corner. She said she has since recognized the boy as Dylan Klebold, from the televised coverage of the incident... Gonzales described having seen 'Klebold' standing beside a tan colored 'smaller' car on April 20, 1999 at about 7:45 a.m. She said as she drove by she saw him looking into the trunk of the car with about three other high school aged boys." (Tips, p.13206)

Garrett Talocco

--While helping students escape, the roof repairman told him he saw a tan car follow a black car into the CHS parking lot, and saw 3 people exit the black vehicle; 2 were the shooters; this happened shortly before the shooting began.

"Talocco stated he ran over to the tennis courts and assisted guiding students out of the area. While in that area he spoke to an unidentified maintenance man who had been working on the school roof. That individual told him he had seen the individuals involved in the shooting exit a black vehicle in the parking lot, along with a third person, shortly before the shooting started. He also stated he had observed a small tan colored vehicle following the black one as it arrived in the lot." (11k, pp.8976-8977)

Sally Hocker

--Saw a tan car speeding out of Clement Park's parking lot right as the shooting began "Hocker stated that on 04-20-99, at approximately 11:25 a.m., she was driving Northbound on Pierce St., past Columbine High School, en route to Clement Park for a walk. As she drove past the school she noticed a JCSD patrol car entering the main parking lot. Once past the school she pulled into the park, using the Pierce St. entrance, and observed a small brown sedan, which she described as a "Civic type" vehicle, exiting the lot very quickly. (W)Hocker stated, at the time she did not think the activity was especially unusual and did not pay much attention to the vehicle. She was unable to provide any information reference the vehicle occupants other than she thought it was driven by a young male, with another male passenger." (11k, p.7511)

Gabe Montoya

--Saw Klebold's BMW and a tan sedan parked in Nate Dykeman's driveway before the shootings

Note: We know [REDACTED] is Nate Dykeman, and the redacted location is Dykeman's house for two reasons: (1) Another witness (Sarah Gillings) relayed Montoya's story to investigators and Dykeman's name was not redacted, and (2) Montoya and Dykeman were neighbors on Plymouth Place (7934 & 7973 respectively).

"On May 11, 1999, I spoke to Gabe Montoya and his mother Sandy Montoya, by telephone. I asked Gabe Montoya about a friend of his and neighbor, named [REDACTED] [Nate Dykeman]. Gabe Montoya said that he had a conversation with [BIG REDACTION] [Likely a reference to the conversation about Corey DePooter being killed]. Gabe Montoya indicated that he and his friend Joel Koons had been at the Montoya home when they had the conversation with [REDACTED] [Dykeman].

I asked Montoya to tell about the conversation and his movements on that day. Montoya said that he had gone to school that morning for first hour. Montoya said that he picked up Joel Koons about 11:15 a.m. on April 20, 1999, and drove him to his car at Clement Park. Montoya said that he followed Koons to the Firestone Station located at Chatfield and Coal Mine and from there the two of them went to the Montoya home.

Montoya said that he and Koons had lunch at his house and were outside playing basketball when they saw a tan colored possibly an SUV pull into [REDACTED] [Dykeman's] driveway. Montoya said that he did not really look at the car but did state that the car drove down the street at a high rate of speed, but indicated that was not unusual for [REDACTED] [Dykeman] to drive that way. Montoya said that he did not see who had gotten in or out of the car, but said he heard car doors close. I asked Montoya how many car doors he heard and he said that he thought he heard two, but was not sure. Montoya said that the car was there in the [REDACTED] [Dykeman] driveway for about 5 to 10 minutes and that he did not see who got back into the car."

"Montoya indicated that he remembers the tan vehicle having a very dark tinted rear window with numerous stickers stuck to the rear window. Montoya said that he and Koons heard numerous police sirens prior to the arrival of the tan vehicle and that he heard a few police sirens after the tan vehicle left the [REDACTED] [Dykeman] residence. Montoya said he does not know the exact time that the tan car drove to the [REDACTED] [Dykeman's] but thought it was around 12:20 p.m. I asked Montoya why he thought it had been around that time and he said that Koons did not have to be back to school until 12:40 p.m. and that Sandy Montoya had arrived home just after the tan vehicle left the [REDACTED] [Dykeman] home.

I asked Sandy Montoya if she remembered what time it was that she got home and she said that she thought it was around 12:15 p.m. to 12:20 p.m." (11k, pp.6913-6914)

Sarah Gillings

"Was told by a student named Gabe Montoya who lives on W. Plymouth Place that a neighbor of his named "Nathan" told him at 2:00 p.m. the day of the shooting that Corey DePooter was killed in the shooting. Nathan told Gabe that he found that out on news reports when no such reports were aired; Gabe also told her that he saw Dylan's black car and another tan sedan at Nathan's house the morning of the shooting." (11k, p.3142, p.3245)

From Ralph Gallegos' section