A pedestrian struck by a vehicle near East 40th Avenue and Kittredge Street has died, according to an update from police. The crash, which involved a motorist and a pedestrian, happened on Saturday in Denver's Gateway / Green Valley Ranch area, and the victim was rushed to a local hospital before being declared deceased.
The Denver Police Department confirmed the death in a social media update, writing that “the pedestrian was transported to a local hospital and was declared deceased.” Police say they are still investigating the crash, and details including the victim's identity, the driver's status, and what led up to the collision have not been released. The department has asked anyone with information to call its non-emergency line at 720-913-2000 or to call or text 911 in an emergency, noting that its social media account is not monitored around the clock.
A Dangerous Stretch of East Denver Roadway
The intersection sits along East 40th Avenue, a high-volume arterial that links Denver and Aurora and runs near residential subdivisions, hotel districts, and transit hubs including the 40th Avenue and Airport Boulevard RTD station, according to city geospatial data cited in local research on the area. Corridors like this one are exactly the kind of multi-lane arterial that Denver's Department of Transportation and Infrastructure has flagged as part of its High Injury Network — a group of streets that makes up just 5% of city roads but accounts for roughly half to 56% of all traffic fatalities citywide.
This crash adds to a grim pattern playing out across the city this year. Denver logged 93 traffic fatalities in 2025, its deadliest year on record since Vision Zero tracking began in 2013, up from 80 deaths the year before, Hoodline previously reported. Pedestrians in particular have borne a growing share of that toll, with deaths jumping 50% year-over-year in 2025 — 25 pedestrians killed through late September compared to 16 during the same stretch in 2024.
Statewide Numbers Point to a Broader Crisis
The trend extends well beyond Denver's city limits. Statewide, Colorado recorded 127 pedestrian fatalities in 2025, a 98.4% increase compared to 2015 and nearly 20% of all traffic deaths in the state, per the Colorado Department of Transportation. Denver County alone recorded 140 pedestrian fatalities between 2020 and 2025, the agency's data shows.
CDOT's safety data also shows that 65% of statewide pedestrian deaths in 2024 happened during hours of darkness, while 68% occurred outside marked crosswalks — patterns that traffic investigators typically weigh when reconstructing a fatal crash. It remains unknown whether lighting, speed, or crosswalk positioning played a role in Saturday's collision at East 40th Avenue and Kittredge Street, since police have not released those details.
Tougher Penalties Now on the Books
Colorado lawmakers moved to toughen consequences for fatal crashes involving driver negligence last year. Under Senate Bill 25-281, enacted in June 2025, careless driving that causes a death was elevated from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony, with license suspensions of up to one year and mandatory drug and alcohol testing for drivers involved in fatal crashes, according to Colorado Capitol Watch. Previously, careless driving resulting in death carried a maximum of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine under Colorado Revised Statutes § 42-4-1402, per Justia.
State law also spells out shared responsibilities on the road: Colorado Revised Statutes § 42-4-802 requires drivers to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, while also barring pedestrians from stepping off a curb into traffic when a vehicle can't safely stop, according to Boesen Law. Whether either factor applied in this case has not been addressed by investigators, and no charges have been announced.
Saturday's death follows a string of serious pedestrian crashes across the city in recent weeks, including incidents on Federal Boulevard, Peoria Street in Montbello, Tower Road near DIA, and at Dartmouth and Colgate in southwest Denver. Across the nine-county Denver metro region, traffic fatalities and serious injuries rose more than 30% from 2020 to 2024, totaling 1,564 deaths and over 9,500 severe injuries, as regional planners continue working toward a stated goal of zero traffic deaths by 2040.
