A bicyclist was left with serious injuries Monday night after a motorist struck them and fled the scene near West 13th Avenue and North Knox Court in West Denver. The Denver Police Department is now investigating the crash and warned that traffic delays were possible in the area as officers worked the scene.
According to a Denver Police Dept. post, the crash involved a motorist and a bicyclist and resulted in serious injuries, though the driver did not remain at the scene. Police did not release a suspect vehicle description or the current medical condition of the injured cyclist in the alert, leaving those details as open questions for now. The department directed the public to review broader traffic crash data on Denver’s Open Data Catalog and asked anyone with information to call or text 911 in emergencies, or reach police services at 720-913-2000.
Why Denver Police Issue Public Crash Alerts
Not every collision in Denver generates a public notice. The department has stated that it only issues a Crash Alert when at least one person involved sustains serious injuries or when the crash results in road closures, and it has cautioned that its social media account is not monitored around the clock. That threshold signals the severity of Monday’s crash near Knox Court.
Colorado law treats fleeing the scene of a crash involving serious bodily injury as a serious criminal matter. Under state statute, leaving the scene of a crash resulting in serious injury is a Class 4 felony carrying two to six years in prison, fines of up to $500,000, and driver’s license revocation, according to the Colorado Legal Defense Group. Separate statutes require any driver involved in an injury collision to stop immediately, exchange information, and render reasonable assistance, including calling for medical transport, as outlined by the Peakstone Law Group.
A Corridor With a History of Danger
Knox Court has particular significance for cyclists in West Denver. City planning documents identify it as a primary north-south bicycle corridor, with West 13th Avenue designated as a shared bicycle roadway serving the West Colfax and Sun Valley neighborhoods, per the City and County of Denver’s West Area Plan…