Local News

Four first responders struck by alleged DUI driver

By Logan Smith

Updated on: December 8, 2023 / 12:15 PM MST / CBS Colorado

The westbound lanes of Interstate 76 were closed Thursday night and a driver taken into custody after a vehicle veered into a crash scene and hit two police officers and two firefighters.

All four first responders were taken to hospitals. The extent of their injuries has not been released.

CBS

A Commerce City Police Department spokesperson said a driver suspected of driving under the influence drove around barricades and crashed into the scene of an earlier crash. Two CCPD officers and two South Adams County Fire Department firefighters were struck and injured as a result.

The SUV halfway loaded onto a flatbed tow truck was involved in the original crash in the westbound lanes of I-76, a Commerce City Police Department spokesperson described at Thursday night's scene. The truck on the left crashed into that scene, injuring four first responders. The driver of that truck has been detained. Commerce City Police Department/Facebook

One direction of I-76 was closed from 104th Avenue to U.S. 85 beginning at 9:15 p.m. The eastbound lanes remain open.

The Colorado State Patrol is responding to the scene. Its personnel will be handling the investigation.

Logan Smith

Logan Smith is an assignment desk editor at CBS Colorado in Denver with more than 30 years of journalism experience in digital, television and print media.