City To Examine Speer & Champa Intersection Following Crash Onto Cherry Creek Bike Path
DENVER (CBS4) - There was another close call following a car crash which ended with a car landing on the Cherry Creek Bike Path on Wednesday morning. The crash happened at the intersection of Champa Street and Speer Boulevard.
Police say just before 6 a.m. the driver of a pickup truck was headed down Champa when he ran a red light and struck a vehicle heading north on Speer.
The force of the collision sent the car careening over the retaining wall and onto the bike path.
A similar incident happened at that exact location in 2008, and CBS4 has counted at least four more cases along the same stretch in the last two years.
For some commuters who walk and bike the stretch daily, it's not a new concern.
"I've definitely seen a few cars go over the edge and into either the path or the water," said Tyler Diedrichsen.
Diedrichsen has been using the path for just over a year. He walks daily to and from work.
"We have to be careful because we can't assume everyone's going to be responsible as shown today."
With the narrow pathway and the amount of foot and bike traffic, Diedrichsen says the thought is frightening.
"As pedestrians, if a car goes over and ... us versus a falling car? We're going to lose."
The latest incident won't change his commute, but he says it will change at least one of his habits.
"Something I will not do is put headphones in," he said.
Denver Public Works says it will look to see if any improvements can be made from the traffic engineering perspective.
Denver police say both drivers were transported to the hospital. The driver who ran the red light was cited with careless driving resulting in injury.