Child rescued from car after alleged DUI driver fled Colorado troopers, police say
An alleged drunk driver was arrested and a screaming child was rescued from their car after Colorado State Patrol received a report of an erratic driver with no license plates and a gas pump nozzle hanging out of their tank, the agency said.
The incident happened on July 29, but CSP released details of the chase and arrest on Thursday. The driver was reported by another motorist on Interstate 70 near Deer Trail. The motorist called *CSP (*277), Colorado State Patrol's hotline for reporting impaired or aggressive drivers.
The caller said they saw a green Volvo station wagon with no license plate and the gas nozzle hanging off their car with a child inside screaming for help.
State troopers responded and located the vehicle, but say the driver fled. About 30 miles west, near Watkins, troopers finally stopped the car. The driver, who hasn't been identified by CSP, was arrested and faces charges of DUI, felony eluding, child abuse with no injury, failure to provide/use child restraint, and reckless endangerment.
The child was also taken from the car. They were uninjured, according to CSP, but their current status wasn't otherwise clear.
Since implementing the *CSP system in 1998, the agency reports having received thousands of calls about impaired or aggressive drivers. In 2024, it got 54,956 total *CSP calls, with 30,779 related to road rage or aggressive driving and 24,177 regarding a suspected impaired driver, CSP says.
