Aurora police officer seriously injured, civilian killed in 2-car rollover crash Saturday

AURORA | An Aurora man was killed and a police officer seriously injured in a rollover crash Saturday night, police say.

Interim police Chief Art Acevedo said during a news conference Saturday that dispatchers received a call at about 8 p.m. regarding suspicious circumstances occurring at a condominium in the 2300 block of South Blackhawk Street.

A District 3 officer headed to the scene at about 8:15 p.m. While en route, the officer reported his Chevy Tahoe police cruiser had struck another vehicle, that the police vehicle had flipped over and that he was trapped inside.

The officer was northbound on South Chambers Road at the time and said the civilian’s Toyota Corolla, eastbound on East Bates Avenue, had pulled in front of him. Colorado State Patrol spokesman Troy Kessler later said the civilian in the Corolla failed to yield the right-of-way at the intersection, where the only traffic control devices are stop signs on Bates, and was “T-boned” by the Aurora officer.

He also said the civilian driver is suspected to have been intoxicated, and that speed was a factor in the crash, although he said he didn’t know which driver was suspected of speeding. Kessler said troopers spoke with the Aurora officer in the hospital about three and a half hours after the crash and did not observe signs of intoxication.

Because of this, he said they did not administer a toxicology test to the police officer. This happened in spite of an Aurora Police Department policy requiring sworn officers to take a toxicology test “as soon as practicable” following any crash resulting in serious bodily injury or death.

Kessler said it would be up to Aurora police to enforce their own internal rule and that troopers “investigated the officer the same as everyone else.” Aurora police were not immediately available to respond to an email seeking comment on the apparent departure from APD policy.

Acevedo said both drivers were transported to the hospital with serious injuries and that the officer was alert and conscious.

Kessler said the other driver, a 44-year-old Aurora man, was pronounced dead at the hospital. The Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office later identified the man as Elias Hans Anderson.

The interim chief said Colorado State Patrol is investigating the crash and that an Aurora police internal affairs investigation would also begin. The injured officer was hired by Aurora police in February 2022 and is 25 years old, law enforcement said.

While a civilian came upon the crash and used their own vehicle to block the roadway, Acevedo said police had not been able to locate any witnesses.

He said no dashboard camera footage was available but that the officer’s body-worn camera had been turned over to state troopers and that a “black box” in the vehicle would have recorded some data about the collision.

“As you can imagine, this is a tragic situation when you have an officer involved in a critical incident like this, but again, we are having another agency investigate,” Acevedo said Saturday night. “I would just ask that everyone listening please pray for that family that lost their loved one this evening. My heart goes out to them.”

Kessler said the officer had not activated his vehicle’s lights or siren at the time of the crash. He also said that, while the civilian was wearing a seatbelt, the officer was not.

Acevedo encouraged any witnesses of the crash to contact Colorado State Patrol. Kessler said witnesses could call the agency’s dispatch center at 303-239-4501, referencing case number 1C230656.