Hit & Run Caught On Video, Victim Follows Driver & Calls 911
DENVER, Colo. (CBS4) - A Denver resident is shocked by the surveillance video that shows a driver plowing into his car and leaving the scene.
The video shows a sedan slamming into an SUV and a car behind it, which were parked on West 34th Avenue between Clay and Bryant streets.
Jesse Carmona, the owner of the SUV that was hit, said that he was inside his home late Monday night when he heard a loud crash. He went outside and said a neighbor pointed him in the direction in which the driver took off. He said that's when he jumped into another car and chased after her.
"Nobody can get away with this," said Carmona. "Especially driving like that. You hit vehicles, you take off, abandon the scene … and get slapped on the wrist."
Carmona said that he spotted the driver in a car that was parked in an alley four blocks away. He called 911 and waited for police to arrive.
Officers charged the driver with careless driving and failure to report an accident, which are both misdemeanor traffic citations.
"I think there should have been more done," said Carmona. "I mean letting her go like that? I know I would have had my hands up in the air waiting for the cops to get me. She should have went to jail."
Carmona was worried that the driver's insurance would not cover the damage.
"They said to go ahead and go through my insurance, and (that they would) go ahead and reimburse (me)," said Carmona. "But I don't think that's going to happen."
Carmona said the video came from surveillance cameras mounted outside his duplex in the Highlands.
CBS4's Melissa Garcia asked Denver police why the driver received the citations that she did. A DPD spokesperson said that information was not available since the report was incomplete. The spokesperson also said that police could not yet release the driver's name, and said that the officers who responded observed no signs of intoxication.
CBS4 also called and emailed the driver's insurance company. As of Wednesday evening a company spokesperson had not provided comment.
Melissa Garcia has been reporting for CBS4 News since March 2014. Find her bio here, follow her on Twitter @MelissaGarciaTV, or send your story idea to mkgarcia@cbs.com.
