Hit-and-run driver caught on video actually running from East Colfax triple injury

New, tougher hit-and-run laws are meant to dissuade drivers who get into an accident from rabbiting. But the urge to flee can be overwhelming, even when the odds of it helping are practically nil.

Case in point: A triple-injury hit-and-run incident at an East Colfax bus stop yesterday, in which the driver ran, literally, even though he was captured on cell phone photos and videos doing just that. Get details and see the images and footage below.

The Denver Police Department notified its Twitter followers about the accident, which took place at around 2 p.m., via this message….

…followed shortly thereafter by a photo of the vehicle in question:

According to 9News, a man lost control of the vehicle, a Saab station wagon, near the bus stop at East Colfax and Josephine Street, where a number of people were waiting for a pick-up. The Saab hopped the curb and hit a reported three victims, the total contradicting the tweet above. Injuries are described as serious but not life-threatening, with one man being impaled through the leg by a shard of wood sent flying by the Saab’s impact. Before emergency personnel arrived, he was cared for by an orthopedic surgeon who happened to be getting a haircut at a barber shop mere steps away. Meanwhile, the Saab’s driver dismounted and began moving away from the crash site, much to the chagrin of those nearby. One bystander snapped this photo…. …while another began rolling video. In the brief clip, someone is telling the man to “sit down.” Instead, he takes off running.

Of course, the car remained behind — and even if it wasn’t the driver’s, it’s presumably got fingerprints aplenty that can supplement the visual evidence collected long before law enforcers began processing the clues left behind.

Here’s the aforementioned witness footage, followed by a 9News report.

More from our News archive circa June 2012: “Tim Albo faces new challenges as hit-and-run bill he inspired becomes law.”