COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — On Tuesday morning, a suspected drunk driver hit the back of a Commerce City police car on I-270 near Vasquez Boulevard.
"Officers were on 270 handling a separate call. While they were on that call, a suspected DUI driver drove into the back of one of our patrol cars," said Commerce City Police Department Traffic Sergeant Nicholas Arias. "When that happened, our patrol officer was inside and did sustain injury from this crash."
The crash comes as a sobering reminder of what can happen when someone chooses to get behind the wheel of a vehicle after drinking alcohol.
It's because of this that more than 80 law enforcement agencies across the state plan to increase patrols on New Year's Eve as they look to get impaired drivers off the roads.
"We're looking at law enforcement officers from sheriff's offices, police departments across the state. I think people can expect saturation patrols in certain areas of town," said Sam Cole, the Traffic Safety Manager with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).
Cole told Denver7 there may even possibly be checkpoints throughout the state along with the saturation patrols which will focus on areas with bars and dense crowds for the holiday.
"Really the best thing to do is just to plan ahead," Cole said. "Don't bring your car with you."
During previous enforcement periods this year, CDOT officials said there were 6,307 DUI arrests.
On December 31, 2023, CDOT said there were 239 DUI arrests across the state.
"It's so incredibly easy to prevent a DUI," Cole said.
Meantime, in Commerce City, there have been more than 250 DUI arrests so far this year. A number the department is hoping to not add to on the eve of 2025.
"We're going to be extra vigilant," Sergeant Arias said.
Denver7 has covered multiple instances in December and January where law enforcement or other emergency personnel have been hit by drivers who were then criminally charged. Below are some examples from recent years.
- Early on Dec. 29, 2021, three people — including a police officer — were injured and one person died after a driver in a stolen car crashed into a police vehicle in Westminster. The suspect driver and a passenger were transported to a hospital, where the passenger succumbed to her injuries. The officer, as well as his civilian passenger, were transported to a hospital for minor injuries.
Westminster Police Department - On the early evening of Dec. 4, 2022, a driver crashed into a West Metro Fire ambulance, sending two firefighters to a hospital. No patients were inside at the time. The ambulance ended up on its side. The driver of the suspect vehicle was identified as Armando Casillas. He was arrested and faced charges of vehicular assault, DUI, and aggravated motor vehicle theft. He pleaded guilty to motor vehicle theft and vehicular assault (DWAI) in October 2023 and was sentenced the following month two two years (suspended imposition) in the Department of Corrections for the first county and three years (suspended imposition) for the second.
- On Dec. 6, 2022, Eric Morales, a man from Pueblo was arrested on multiple charges after he was accused of kidnapping a woman and child, crashed into a Colorado Springs police vehicle, and fled from authorities on Interstate 25. He was taken into custody shortly afterward and faced charges of second-degree kidnapping, vehicular eluding, criminal mischief, violation of a protection order, reckless driving, child abuse, resisting arrest and reckless endangerment. He pleaded guilty to kidnapping in June 2023 — with the rest of the counts dismissed — and was sentenced to five years in prison.
- In mid-January 2023, a Thornton woman was charged with more than a dozen counts after allegedly stealing a car, threatening victims with a stun gun, crashing into a police car, and trying to escape Lakewood police officers, according to an arrest affidavit. The suspect, Cassandra Rosalie Trujillo of Thornton, was arrested that same day. She pleaded guilty to multiple charges and has not yet been sentenced.
On Dec. 7, 2023, two Commerce City police officers and two Adams County firefighters were struck by a suspected impaired driver while investigating a separate DUI crash on westbound I-76. Benjamin Winters of Brighton was arrested on charges of vehicular assault and DUI. Winters pleaded guilty to all of the charges against him in May 2024, and was sentenced in August to four years in prison.
Denver7 was there when Commerce City officials made a public plea to residents to stop driving while impaired. You can view the full news conference in the video player below.
‘This has to stop’: Commerce City officials’ public plea after close call with suspected DUI driver
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