Traffic deaths involving suspected impairment dropped more than 50% during this time period compared to last year, from 82 deaths to 37, according to CDOT.

From January to June of this year, CDOT recorded 72 fatalities with suspected impairment. That’s a 28.7% decrease from the 101 traffic deaths under the same circumstances last year.

“While this data is preliminary, these decreases reflect improvement in Colorado’s roadway safety,” read a CDOT news release sent Thursday.

Beginning Thursday through Wednesday of next week, CDOT will be supporting Colorado State Patrol and 20 local law enforcement agencies in a Labor Day DUI enforcement crackdown. Drivers may see sobriety checkpoints and increased police presence to arrest impaired drivers.

“The first half of the year has shown a decrease in impaired driving deaths in 2026 compared to years prior,” Shoshana Lew, CDOT executive director, said in the release. “However, as fatalities can increase in the later months, we must continue to always drive sober as the fall and holiday seasons approach. The decision to drive after drinking could mean years of increased costs and a lifetime of trauma.â€�

State troopers responded to the crash near Federal Boulevard and West 66th Avenue just after 9:15 p.m. Monday, according to a news release from the agency. That intersection is in Berkley, which sits between Denver and Westminster.

Two Denver men were crossing Federal Boulevard on foot when they were hit by a white Ford F-150, state patrol officials said in the release. Paramedics took a 46-year-old man to the hospital with serious injuries, and a 38-year-old man died at the scene.

The pickup truck driver fled the scene of the crash, and investigators later found the vehicle abandoned near Decatur Street and West 67th Place, state patrol officials said. That’s less than half a mile from the crash site.

As of Tuesday afternoon, no suspects had been publicly identified or arrested.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

Updated 12:24 p.m. Tuesday: Because of incorrect information from a source, this article previously identified the men as motorcyclists. The Colorado State Patrol later said no motorcycle was involved and that the men were on foot. 

The flight crew was attempting to land at Centennial Airport at about 8:45 p.m. on Aug. 19 when the cockpit was hit by the green laser, according to a news release from Colorado State Patrol. The beam — which can cause glare and flash blindness, as well as permanent eye damage — and led the crew to abort the attempted landing.

Troopers on the aircraft saw the beam came from a nearby apartment complex, according to the release. Troopers went to the unit the beam was coming from and warned the residents of the dangers of shining lasers at aircraft. They also took the laser.

The beams, despite seeming small at the source, can flare out when hitting a cockpit, hurting a pilot’s ability to see and operate the aircraft. Knowingly shining a laser at an occupied aircraft is both a federal crime and a felony under Colorado law.

The Aug. 19 incident was one of several that had happened near that location in prior evenings, according to the news release.

State patrol officials forwarded information about the laser beam targeting to the Federal Aviation Administration, the release stated.

Children’s Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora saw a 184% increase in children severely injured by e-bikes between 2024 and 2025, said Alicia Melven, an injury prevention and outreach specialist for the hospital’s trauma program. As of June, the hospital had documented more traumatic e-bike injuries in 2026 than in all of 2025, she said.

The exact number of injuries for each year was not available Thursday, but Melven said the statistics are drawn from the hospital’s trauma registry. That means the family met with a trauma surgeon for the child’s severe injuries. The statistics do not include minor injuries, which are significantly harder to track across patients, and a statewide database does not yet exist for e-bike crashes.

Those statistics are specific to the Anschutz campus, but Dr. Maria Mandt, director of emergency medical services and critical care transport at the campus, said similar trends have been spotted across the state, including at the Children’s Hospital in Colorado Springs.

E-bikes’ increased speed makes them difficult to control and can launch kids who crash harder and farther than analog bicycles, Melven said.

“While these devices can be a fun and convenient way to get around, they can also cause serious injuries that can change a child’s life in an instant,” Mandt said, adding that she treats a child injured in an e-bike accident nearly every shift.

Families are often surprised by the severity of the crash, she said.

“These are not simple scrapes and bruises,” Mandt said. “We frequently see traumatic brain injuries, including skull fractures and concussions. … We see severe internal bleeding and organ damage, and of course, many, many broken bones.”

These injuries — which Mandt said have increased drastically in the last year and a half — often require emergency room visits, surgeries, hospital stays and lengthy recoveries. Many children spend weeks away from school and “some are never the same again, requiring chronic medical care,” she said.

“Many of the injuries and life-changing events that we see every day are preventable with the right precautions and the right supervision,” Mandt said.

Part of the danger stems from a misunderstanding of the different classes of e-bikes, leading some parents to purchase products that fall into the motorcycle category, Colorado State Patrol Lt. Col. Josh Downing said.

An e-bike’s speed is capped at 28 mph, and its engine can generate up to 750 watts, Downing said. If it’s faster or more powerful — whether by design or post-purchase modifications — then its rider needs a motorcycle license to operate it.

More frequent use of both vehicles, as well as electronic scooters, has caused a surge in traffic violations, public complaints and , he said.

“While these e-devices are often marketed as toys, they have power, weight and speed that can severely injure or kill the rider or person that they hit,” Downing said.

If an underage rider is caught on an e-motorcycle, they can be cited for not having a license, registration or insurance, Downing said.

Children should wear helmets certified for their bike’s maximum speed, regardless of age or skill, and bright clothing or reflectors to increase visibility on the trail and road, Mandt said. Families should know local laws and age requirements for e-bikes, which vary by municipality, and make sure kids ride at safe speeds with an eye on their surroundings, she said.

A trooper tried to pull over a blue Subaru Impreza about 7:15 a.m. near U.S. 24 and Piney Point Lane outside of Woodland Park, about 17 miles northwest of Colorado Springs, the State Patrol said.

The driver started firing at the trooper, who was hit multiple times, State Patrol chief Col. Matthew Packard said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

The man fled the scene, and the wounded trooper said over the radio that he had been shot. As a second trooper who was nearby drove toward the shooting, the man passed him while heading in the opposite direction and opened fire, hitting the second trooper, Packard said.

Both troopers were able to drive themselves to UCHealth Pikes Peak Regional Hospital, which is just across the highway, and walk into the emergency room, Packard said.

Trooper Clark Tinan, who sustained minor injuries, was treated and discharged, according to the State Patrol. He has been with the agency for 15 years. Trooper Skylar Hoehn, who has been with the patrol for 10 years, remained hospitalized Wednesday with serious injuries, according to the agency.

Both are expected to survive.

The shooting sparked a massive law enforcement response as the Teller County Sheriff’s Office sent out a reverse 911 call to lock down the Westwood Lakes and Woodland West neighborhoods and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation issued a Blue Alert for the vehicle and driver.

At 9:24 a.m., the family member of a resident in one of the locked-down subdivisions called 911 and said a man doing general contract work at their home matched the description of the suspected shooter, Sheriff Jason Mikesell said.

Deputies already searching the area arrived at the home within one minute, and the man opened fire on responding officers in what Mikesell described as an ambush. One deputy returned fire, hitting the man multiple times.

Law enforcement provided medical aid, but the man was pronounced dead at the hospital at noon. His name will be released after his relatives are notified.

“I will tell you this: If you shoot a Colorado state trooper, the world is coming for you. And that¶¶Òõap what happened today. And I’m grateful for that response today,” Packard said.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is examining why the man was pulled over for a traffic stop, 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen said. The CBI is the lead investigative agency for the shooting that injured troopers and the police shooting that killed the suspect.

In a statement, Gov. Jared Polis said he was devastated to learn about the shooting.

“As both troopers receive medical care for their injuries, I and the entire state of Colorado are keeping both of them and their families in our thoughts and prayers and wishing them a speedy and full recovery,” he said.

The 45-year-old man was hit on the off-ramp from Interstate 270 to Interstate 76 around 8:30 p.m. Thursday. Witnesses said the man was “going back and forth across the roadway” before he died, according to Colorado State Patrol.

The driver who initially struck the man did not stop after the crash, investigators found. A second driver later struck the man’s body on the ramp; that driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators.

The victim had not been publicly identified Friday and investigators have not said why he was on the exit ramp.

Investigators were unable to provide a description of the vehicle that struck and killed the man.

The Costilla County commissioners on Tuesday passed a resolution finding an “extraordinary law enforcement staffing shortage” that threatens essential public safety services.

Joe Smith, the interim sheriff since March, told commissioners he has three people, including himself, to patrol and respond to calls across 1,230 square miles near the New Mexico state line.

These three officers are working 80 to 90 hours per week, he said. During portions of the week, there’s only one of them on duty at a time.

As a result of the staffing shortage, Smith said his people are forced to triage calls, determining “what’s the most criminal.”

“These folks, frankly, feel like they’re treating us as if we’re the volunteer fire department,” Smith told The Denver Post on Wednesday.

Missing evidence, mishandled cases and financial malfeasance: ‘The law just doesn’t exist’ in this rural Colorado county

Costilla County has been scrambling to staff its sheriff's department since March, when the San Luis Valley district attorney indicted former Sheriff Danny Sanchez and four of his employees on a host of felony and misdemeanor charges.

Prosecutors allege Sanchez failed to investigate skeletal human remains found in the county, allowed a deputy to collect the person’s skull in a used paper grocery bag, and failed to gather all the evidence or follow up on the case.

In a separate incident, the grand jury indicted Undersheriff Cruz Soto, Sgt. Caleb Sanchez and Deputy Roland Riley for allegedly deploying their Tasers on a man in the midst of a mental health crisis as he was attempting to walk away.

In May, The Post reported that District Attorney Anne Kelly had seized financial records from Costilla County as her office investigated further allegations of malfeasance. The newspaper also spoke with several former sheriff's employees, who detailed instances where personnel misplaced or lost evidence in murder cases, failed to write reports and repeatedly neglected to provide evidence to prosecutors.

Commissioners passed Tuesday's resolution to help the county apply for financial assistance from the state. The officials said they have been in touch with the Colorado Department of Public Safety and the Department of Local Affairs as they seek emergency funds.

The state did provide money and mutual aid from other law enforcement entities immediately after the indictments, but those funds have expired. Other agencies, meanwhile, are no longer sending deputies to help staff the department.

Smith said he needs at least nine deputies to cover the county. In June, he had six people, but at the end of that month, county officials told him they were over budget and needed to cut the staff.

Down to four officers, Smith said he had to terminate another deputy after the Colorado State Patrol caught him driving 105 mph in a marked patrol car while off-duty.

Still, the county is supposed to have a budget to fund 9.5 people in the sheriff's department, he said.

"Something doesn't add up," Smith said. "I don't know what they're talking about, that we're out of money."

Ben Doon, the county's chief administrative officer, said the $761,426 sheriff's office budget doesn't include any money earmarked for overtime, but the county has been forced to pay significant overages because of the staffing issues.

The county also had to pay several of the indicted officers while they were on paid administrative leave, he said in an email.

"Paying officers for several months while they weren't working also had a negative impact on the budget," Doon said.

Smith, though, says he's considering suing the county over $70,000 in unpaid overtime claims.

"I don't mind filing the lawsuit if they don't come to their senses," he said.

Doon said state and federal law exempt high-level elected officials and executives who manage public agencies from overtime requirements.

"I don't believe there is a sheriff in the state of Colorado that is eligible for overtime," he said. " ... This has been explained to him many times."

The driver, as 32-year-old Briana Brink from Colorado Springs, had a blood-alcohol level nearly three times higher than the legal limit before the crash on July 20, investigators found. She was driving east in the westbound lanes of I-70 not far from the Utah border and collided with a Ford F-150 just after 11:36 a.m.

Three adults and three children in the truck were seriously injured in the crash, according to state patrol. They were all from Thornton. The wrong-way driver, Brink, died at the scene.

The Mesa County Coroner’s Office did not answer questions about how investigators determined the crash was intentional.

Colorado State Trooper Sherri Mendez referred questions about the crash to the coroner’s office.

State Patrol troopers responded to the crash on northbound I-25 at milepost 215, near East 58th Avenue, at about 5:25 a.m. Monday, according to a news release from the agency.

Investigators believe a Chevrolet Silverado lost control and struck a pedestrian on the right shoulder of I-25, state patrol officials said in the release. The pedestrian was thrown over the highway’s concrete barrier, landing on another road, state patrol officials said.

The man killed in the crash will be identified by the Adams County Coroner’s Office.

As of 7 a.m. Monday, the between 48th Avenue and 58th Avenue for the crash, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

The crash remains under investigation.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

Colorado State Patrol troopers responded to the two-vehicle crash near mile marker three on Colorado 184, west of Dolores, at about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to a news release from the agency.

A Dodge pickup truck driving east on the state highway swerved into the westbound lanes, colliding with a recreational vehicle, state patrol officials said. The Dodge had been reported to law enforcement before the crash for “weaving all over the roadway,” officials said.

The Dodge driver, an 84-year-old man, and the RV driver, a 49-year-old man, both died at the scene of the crash, according to the release. They will be identified by the Montezuma County Coroner’s Office.

Colorado 184 was closed in both directions on Tuesday for the crash cleanup and investigation, but had fully reopened by Wednesday morning.

This is a developing story and may be updated.