DENVER (KDVR) — As traffic crashes rise, so does the number of people dodging accountability.
Colorado is in the midst of a record-breaking wave of both the number of deadly crashes and the number of lives lost in them. Both nationally and in Denver, the number of these crashes involving hit-and-runs is on the rise.
There were 684 deadly crashes on Colorado roads in 2022, more than any of the last 20 years. In those crashes, 757 people were killed – also more than any of the last 20 years.
In the U.S., there was a spike in the number of crashes and in the number of hit-and-run crashes. Between 2019 and 2020, the number of hit-and-run deaths jumped 26%, including 24% of all pedestrian deaths and 22% of all pedal cyclist deaths.
The same is true in Denver.
The number of hit-and-runs in Denver grew 21% from 2020 to 2021 and stayed at that level through 2022. The number of seriously injurious hit-and-runs grew by 24% in 2021 and another 20% in 2022.
Deadly hit-and-runs have increased by 40% more in 2021 than the year before and 29% more in 2022 than in 2021.