Hit & run driver confesses to CBS Colorado: 'If you did it, why lie?'
A hit-and-run driver has confessed and pleaded guilty after being identified by a CBS News Colorado reporter who pursued the suspect following a hit-and-run crash in southeast Denver.
"If you did it, why lie?" said David Duran, 39, of Centennial, before he entered a Denver courthouse on Tuesday and pleaded guilty to being the at-fault driver in the July hit-and-run case.
"If you mess up, you might as well take responsibility for it. You can only run for so long," said Duran.
On July 10, Duran was driving his Lexus sedan through an intersection at Alameda and Leetsdale. He said he thought he had a green light. He careened into two cars in the intersection but immediately left the scene.
"I freaked out and took off," Duran told CBS News Colorado. "Everything happened pretty damn fast. I just freaked out and thought I needed to get home. I can't explain why."
CBS News Colorado Investigative reporter Brian Maass witnessed the hit and run and called 911 and began following Duran.
Denver police say they do not advise citizens to pursue or follow hit-and-run suspects.
"It can cause an additional crash in attempting to follow that driver or there is a potential for the suspect to become violent," said Denver Police Technician Jay Casillas.
Maass got pictures of the fleeing car and of its temporary license tags.
Denver police traced the tags to Duran, who voluntarily spoke with a DPD detective and confessed.
He was charged with failing to report an accident, careless driving, driving without a valid license and driving without proof of insurance.
Duran, who works as a restaurant cook, said he had not been drinking or doing drugs that day but was scared.
Just before a court date on Tuesday, Duran told CBS News Colorado, "Might as well tell the truth and get it over with. That's what a man does -- take it head on."
He then walked into a Denver courtroom and agreed to plead guilty to careless driving; the other charges were dropped. He is scheduled to be sentenced in October.
Casillas said if detectives can gather enough evidence from a hit and run that points to a specific person, "It sometimes compels them to confess to being the driver of the act."
It's estimated that only between 10% and 20% of hit-and-run cases are ever solved.
As for Duran, he said he was partly motivated to confess and plead guilty to set a positive example for his 14-year-old daughter.