A motorist and a pedestrian were involved in a serious crash Wednesday at 9th Street and Auraria Parkway, near Denver's Auraria campus, and police are warning drivers to expect delays in the area.
Denver Police Department said on social media that it was investigating the collision, writing, “#DPD is investigating a traffic crash at 9th St. and Auraria Pkwy., that resulted in serious injuries, involving a motorist and pedestrian,” according to a Denver Police Dept. post
shared Wednesday. The department added a brief caution for anyone traveling through the area: “Expect delays in the area.”
The post came as what the department calls a Crash Alert, a designation it reserves for incidents meeting specific criteria. The department's standard disclaimer attached to such alerts states that “we will only issue a Crash Alert if at least one involved person sustains serious injuries or the crash results in road closures,” and notes that not every traffic crash in the city meets that bar for public posting.
What Remains Unknown
Beyond confirming serious injuries and the involvement of a motorist and pedestrian, the department's post did not identify who was hurt or what led to the crash. No further details on the circumstances have been released as of Wednesday's alert.
This is not the first serious crash reported at that same Auraria-area intersection. Back in September 2017, outbound Auraria Parkway was closed after what was described as a two-vehicle crash with serious injuries, according to KDVR. At the time, that station reported that the identities of those involved and the cause of that earlier crash had not been released. A separate KDVR report also described a crash near the same stretch that sent a scooter rider to the hospital, though no date was given for that incident.
How Denver Tracks Serious Crashes
The intersection's history fits into a broader pattern the city has been monitoring for years. Denver's Vision Zero program tracks fatal and serious bodily injury crashes citywide “to identify trends to be addressed through a variety of safety measures,” according to the City and County of Denver. The city also maintains a crash data dashboard showing fatal and serious-injury crashes dating back to 2013, which updates daily on weekdays, per the city's Vision Zero Dashboard.
Denver Police have not released additional updates on the condition of those involved in Wednesday's crash, nor have they specified a cause. For now, the department's guidance to the public remains limited to its initial warning: expect delays near 9th Street and Auraria Parkway while the investigation continues.
