DPD: Sleeping driver wakes, causes deadly crash

Two people are dead and six were injured after a bad accident that shutdown part of Colorado Boulevard for several hours Sunday afternoon. 

In the moments before the accident firefighters approached the driver of a black Chevrolet Suburban, who was reportedly sleeping in his car. When they tried talking to the man, he took off, causing the accident seconds later.

The four-car wreck happened at East Mexico and South Colorado Boulevard. Denver Fire Department officials said prior to the accident the driver parked his car in the middle of the road, and was sleeping inside near Colorado and Yale.

"When responders initially tried to talk to him, he sped off and so we don’t know what the cause of that [was] or why he was sleeping initially in the car," said Luis Cedillo with the Denver Fire Department.

Emergency crews needed the jaws of life to pull two victims from a car that was damaged beyond recognition. One person died at the scene and the other was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Five people were inside the car that rolled - including at least two children. Those people got out of the vehicle before emergency crews arrived. 

Of the six people taken to the hospital, at least four of them have life-threatening injuries.

The driver is among the injured but police have not released further details on his injuries.

"I think there’s a number of things that we need to consider and look at before we even come close to determining what was in that person’s mind," said Tyrone Campbell, a technician with the Denver Police Department.

Witnesses tell Denver7 the driver of the black Chevy was going very fast before the accident.

"This black SUV the one that’s upright, came racing past me at an accelerating speed and continued to accelerate and that’s what really captured my attention," said Randi Doeker, a witness.

"By looking at the vehicle you can tell it definitely was not at a slow speed," Cedillo told Denver7.

The northbound side of Colorado Boulevard was closed for about four hours as police worked to investigate and clear the scene.