A chain of hit-and-run collisions involving a Denver police cruiser and other vehicles along a 10-block stretch of East Colfax Avenue tonight sent six people, including the alleged drunk driver and an unrelated suspect in the police car, to the hospital with minor injuries.
The events began at about 7:15 p.m. when a black Ford Expedition struck a parked police car at Fillmore Street, said Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson.
The driver, who has not been named, then sped away to the west at more than 80 mph, hitting a car at Williams Street and then slamming into the back of a Honda sedan west of Gilpin Street. The impact drove the car about 300 feet before it came to rest against a pole at Franklin Street and Park Avenue.
The woman who was driving the demolished Honda was injured but alert, Jackson said.
Another car was also hit after the sport-utility vehicle hit the Honda, and three people were taken to the hospital in that vehicle, he said. The driver of the SUV also was injured.
“This could have been a whole lot worse, looking at the damage we have here,” Jackson said.
The officer and the driver of the vehicle hit at Williams were not injured, Jackson said, adding there was no police chase.
Jackson said more details could be made available later when the driver’s blood-alcohol level and other matters are investigated.
East Colfax Avenue remained closed Tuesday night and Jackson said he could not predict when it would reopen.
“We’ve got a very long crime scene here,” he said.
The collision caused excitement and dozens of gawkers along one of the city’s primary downtown thoroughfares.
Scores of people were at the outdoor tables at the Streets of London Pub, a few feet west of where the incident ended.
“I didn’t see it coming, but I heard it, and it was sickening,” said Holly Miller, a bar patron.
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
