Car Accidents in Denver: 2023 Crash Data and How a Claim Works

The federal Fatality Analysis Reporting System records every fatal crash in the country with its location, time, light condition and the people involved. For Denver in 2023 it records 71 fatal crashes and 76 deaths. That is fewer than Phoenix, Houston or Los Angeles, but Denver's figures have a profile that distinguishes them: a high share of pedestrians and cyclists, and a strong concentration in darkness and at weekends.

Of the 71 fatal crashes, 32 involved at least one person who was not in a motor vehicle, a pedestrian, a cyclist or a scooter rider. That is 45 percent, higher than Houston's 43 percent and far higher than Kansas City's 22 percent. Forty-nine of the 71 crashes were coded as not a collision between two motor vehicles in transport, which covers pedestrian strikes, single-vehicle crashes into fixed objects and rollovers; only 13 were angle collisions and 4 were rear-end crashes. Denver's fatal crashes are, in the main, a vehicle hitting a person or a vehicle leaving the road.

Timing is the other pattern. Forty-seven of the 71 crashes happened after dark, and 44 of those were on lighted streets, which means the city's major arterials at night rather than unlit rural roads. Sunday had 17 fatal crashes and Saturday 14; together the weekend accounted for 31 of 71, with the other five days averaging eight each. Thirty-three crashes were coded as intersection-related or at an intersection, a substantial but not dominant share.

The data codes each crash to a trafficway as the state reports it. The roads with the most fatal crashes in Denver in 2023 were:

• I-70, 6 fatal crashes, the east-west interstate through north Denver.
• State Route 2, Colorado Boulevard, 4 fatal crashes, the main north-south arterial through central and east Denver.
• State Route 88, Federal Boulevard, 4 fatal crashes, the west side arterial that has long been among Denver's most dangerous streets for pedestrians.
• Speer Boulevard, 2 fatal crashes.
• East 56th Avenue, 2 fatal crashes.
• East Evans Avenue, 2 fatal crashes.
• I-25, 2 fatal crashes.
• State Route 95, Sheridan Boulevard, 2 fatal crashes.

The roads on the list, apart from the two interstates, are multi-lane state highways that function as city streets: Colorado Boulevard, Federal Boulevard and Sheridan Boulevard carry state route numbers, are designed for throughput, and run through dense residential and commercial neighborhoods where people cross on foot. Federal Boulevard in particular has been the subject of city safety planning for years because of its pedestrian death toll. The 2023 data shows the pattern continuing: wide, fast roads, crossed at night, by people the drivers did not see.

For a claim, the location matters in two ways. A pedestrian struck on an arterial at night faces the insurer's argument that they were crossing outside a crosswalk or wearing dark clothing, and Colorado's 50 percent fault bar makes that argument dangerous: a pedestrian found 50 percent at fault recovers nothing. The evidence that answers it, the driver's speed from event data, the lighting at the exact location, the distance from the nearest crosswalk, and camera footage from businesses along the road, must be gathered in the first days.

The road's ownership also matters. Colorado Boulevard, Federal Boulevard and Sheridan Boulevard are state highways maintained by the Colorado Department of Transportation, while the city maintains the local streets, and a claim that lighting, signal timing or crossing design contributed is a claim against the state or the city under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act, with a 182-day notice requirement and damage caps.

Suppose you were crossing Federal Boulevard at a signalized intersection at 9 p.m. on a Saturday, with the walk signal, when a driver turning left struck you. You suffered a fractured tibia requiring surgery and a concussion, with $84,000 in medical bills and three months off work. The driver carried Colorado's $25,000 minimum.

The driver's insurer accepted that its driver turned into you but assigned you 40 percent fault, asserting you were in the roadway outside the crosswalk lines and wearing dark clothing. In Colorado, 40 percent reduces the claim by 40 percent; 50 percent would eliminate it, so the ten points between were the whole case. Camera footage from a business on the corner, requested within the week, showed you within the crosswalk with the walk signal displayed, and the fault assignment was withdrawn.

The driver's $25,000 was paid at the limit. The balance of the claim went to your own auto policy's underinsured motorist coverage, which in Colorado applies to you as a pedestrian, and which paid after negotiation. Had you carried no UM/UIM coverage, the claim would have been capped at $25,000 regardless of its value. All figures are hypothetical; the fault argument and the coverage problem are the usual shape of a Denver pedestrian claim.

The steps are the same as anywhere, with a few specific to Denver and Colorado.

• Call 911 and get the Denver Police report number; crashes on the interstates may be handled by the Colorado State Patrol, and the report comes from whichever agency responded.
• Photograph the scene, the vehicles, the lighting and any crosswalk or signal, especially at night on an arterial.
• Identify cameras on businesses, traffic signals and RTD buses along the road and have footage requested within days.
• Get medical care the same day; Denver's trauma centers document injuries from the start, and a gap in treatment is used against the claim.
• Find your own policy's uninsured and underinsured motorist limits; Colorado's $25,000 minimum makes them the practical source in serious crashes.
• If a city or state road, signal or crossing contributed, calendar the 182-day notice deadline under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act.
• Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer; Colorado's 50 percent bar makes any admission about your own conduct expensive.

Colorado is a fault state, not no-fault. The at-fault driver's liability insurer is the primary source of recovery, and medical payments coverage on your own policy, which Colorado insurers must offer, pays early bills. Colorado's minimum liability coverage is $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident and $15,000 for property damage. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage must be offered and can be rejected in writing, and it applies to you as a pedestrian or cyclist as well as in your car.

Fault follows modified comparative negligence with a 50 percent bar under Colorado law: you recover only if you were less than 50 percent at fault, reduced by your share, so a 50/50 finding eliminates the claim. The deadline for an injury claim arising from the use or operation of a motor vehicle is three years from the crash under C.R.S. § 13-80-101(1)(n), longer than the two-year general injury period and longer than most states. Claims against the City and County of Denver, the Colorado Department of Transportation, RTD or any other public entity require written notice within 182 days under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act, C.R.S. § 24-10-109, and are subject to damage caps.

Crashes in Aurora, Lakewood, Westminster, Arvada and the rest of the metro follow the same Colorado rules. Workers' compensation for a crash on the job runs through the Colorado Division of Workers' Compensation, with written notice to the employer within ten working days and a two-year claim deadline.

A Denver crash claim is shaped by the city's pattern, pedestrians and cyclists on arterials at night, and by Colorado's rules, a generous three-year deadline alongside a severe 50 percent fault bar and a low minimum policy. The questions to answer early are what the evidence shows about fault, what coverage exists beyond the at-fault driver's policy, and whether a government notice deadline applies. Most personal injury attorneys work on contingency.

Ask Legal Matters is a free claim-review request service, not a law firm. Requests may be shared with independent attorneys and legal services partners who handle inquiries in Colorado, and an attorney must evaluate the facts before anyone can say what the claim is worth. If you were hurt in a crash in Denver, you can request a free claim review.

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• What Is the Average Car Accident Settlement? What Sets the Value
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