A pedestrian crossing East Donald Avenue in South Denver's Goldsmith neighborhood was seriously injured before dawn on August 2 when an unknown driver backed a black Toyota Sport Utility Vehicle into them and then drove away without stopping. The crash happened at 2:46 a.m. in the 5100 block of East Donald Avenue, and the driver left the scene without providing the information required by law.
The Denver Police Department is now asking the public for help identifying the vehicle and driver, according to a Denver Police Dept. post announcing a formal Crime Alert issued Thursday. Investigators say the suspect SUV may have minor damage on its rear passenger side from the collision, but they have not released a license plate or any other identifying details. The 5100 block of East Donald Avenue sits near East Evans Avenue and South Monaco Parkway, in a residential stretch of the Goldsmith neighborhood.
Anyone with information is being directed to Metro Denver Crime Stoppers rather than the police department's general line, per the department's post. Tipsters can remain anonymous and are eligible for a reward of up to $2,000 if their information helps solve the case. Those tips can go through the Crime Stoppers tip line at 720-913-STOP (7867), which the department says is answered around the clock, or be submitted online through the organization's website.
How the Reward System Actually Works
Metro Denver Crime Stoppers is an independent nonprofit that receives no government funding, relying instead on private donations to cover its cash rewards for anonymous tips that help solve felony crimes. The organization has cleared more than 5,800 cases since it was founded in 1981. Denver police typically reserve these public Crime Alerts and reward appeals for crashes involving serious bodily injury, fatalities, or full roadway closures, which is why this particular hit-and-run — among the many that occur in the city — rose to the level of a coordinated public appeal.
The case has been assigned case number 26-425777, and the department has asked anyone witnessing an emergency in progress to call or text 911 rather than the tip line.
A Felony Under Colorado Law
Leaving the scene of a crash that causes serious bodily injury is classified as a Class 4 felony under Colorado Revised Statutes § 42-4-1601(2)(b), a designation that carries mandatory driver's license revocation on top of potential prison time. Colorado's hit-and-run statute also operates under strict liability, meaning a driver is legally required to stop, render aid, and exchange information regardless of who was at fault in the initial collision. Colorado lawmakers have also built a statewide alert system, the Medina Alert, under C.R.S. § 24-33.5-416.7, allowing authorities to broadcast suspect vehicle descriptions after hit-and-run crashes that cause serious injury or death; the program is named for Jose Medina, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Denver in 2011.
Part of a Larger Pattern on Denver Streets
This case adds to a string of recent hit-and-run investigations across Denver. Hoodline previously reported on a Cory-Merrill hit-and-run involving a black SUV, as well as separate incidents on North Kalamath Street and near Knox Court that left a pedestrian and a cyclist seriously hurt. In April, a Denver hit-and-run driver who fled a fatal crash was sentenced to five years in prison, underscoring the criminal exposure drivers face when they choose not to stop.
The pattern reflects a broader, worsening trend across the region. Denver logged 94 traffic fatalities on city streets in 2025, its highest annual total since the city began tracking crashes under its Vision Zero program in 2013, and had recorded 42 traffic deaths through the middle of 2026. Statewide, Colorado recorded 701 total traffic fatalities in 2025, including 126 pedestrian deaths — a 5% increase in pedestrian fatalities over the previous year. The Denver Regional Council of Governments has also tracked 1,248 pedestrian crashes across the metro area in 2024 alone, contributing to more than 9,500 serious traffic injuries regionally between 2020 and 2024.
Solving cases like this one without a license plate is difficult, and detectives often lean on more than just tips called into a hotline. Denver's Traffic Investigations Unit, which handles hundreds of hit-and-run cases each month, also works with a network of local body repair shops that flag vehicles coming in for repairs with damage matching a suspect description. For now, investigators are counting on someone in the Goldsmith neighborhood or beyond recognizing the black Toyota SUV with the telltale dent on its rear passenger side.
