Traffic Violence Report: 2 New Fatalities; 22% Hit & Run Rate
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This story has been updated to reflect that the 2019 hit-and-run rate totals 22 percent, not 29 percent.
Fatalities Update from the Denver Police Department
This week, the police reported two fatalities not counted earlier. The total number of traffic deaths reached 57, one short of the total number killed last year. In 2018, traffic fatalities rose, too, by 16 percent.
The list of traffic fatalities this week include two people:
- Adrian Gonzalez-Martinez died August 30 after an auto rollover.
- Justin Gorodess died September 1 in a car-on-car crash.
Hit & Run Crashes
After last week’s report, some readers expressed surprise at the number of drivers involved in hit-and-run crashes, which totaled 4,753 through September 3. In data recorded through yesterday, the number grew to 4,840, which makes up 22 percent of all crashes so-far this year.
The police do not show all hit-and-run incidents in its traffic crash open data file. The incidents show up when the hit and run was the most serious offense. Most crashes involving DUI, serious injuries or fatalities do not show up as a hit and run, even if one took place.
But another report from the police, which counts traffic fatalities, shows that hit-and-runs occurred in seven of the 57 deaths this year, a total of 12 percent (which is not reflected in the graph above).
On February 17, 2016, Mayor Hancock committed to a Vision Zero goal to end all traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2030.
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