A man who crashed a truck while fleeing police after stealing a small front-end loader was shot in the head by a pursuing officer, the coroner said Friday.
Toby Cordova, 33, of Commerce City, died Thursday night at Denver Health Medical Center, said a hospital spokesman.
“He died of a single gunshot wound to the head,” said James Hibbard, the Adams County coroner. “That is our preliminary finding.”
Cordova led Commerce City police on a chase early Wednesday on Interstate 76 after an officer tried to pull him over.
Cordova, driving a Chevrolet pickup truck with a trailer carrying a stolen compact skid-steer loader, “drove his truck directly at an officer” who had placed stop sticks on the highway in an attempt to blow out Cordova’s tires, police said.
“Due to Toby Cordova’s actions, the officer was in fear for his life and safety,” according to a police news release. “The officer then fired his handgun at Toby Cordova.”
The truck swerved off the highway and crashed into a tree. Responders had to cut Cordova out of the mangled truck. He was taken by helicopter to Denver Health Medical Center, where he died the next day.
The shooting is being investigated by the Adams County Critical Incident Team, an investigative group made up of detectives from various law agencies in the county.
The officer, who has not been named, is on paid leave while the incident is investigated.
The chase began near East 112th Avenue and Chambers Road.
“The officer was forced to take evasive action to avoid a head-on collision,” police said.
At one point, Cordova was driving east in the westbound lanes of I-76, police said.
Police said the loader was stolen from the Reunion subdivision in Commerce City and was worth about $45,000.
Staff writer Kieran Nicholson can be reached at 303-820-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
