On-duty Golden police officer killed, another officer injured in Colorado crash

A 33-year-old Colorado police officer has died and another officer was injured in a car crash in the snow. A suspected driver who was under the influence of alcohol is in custody after the accident. It happened just before 5 p.m. Tuesday in Golden, on the west side of the Denver metropolitan area.

The officers – a man and a woman – both worked for the Golden Police Department. They were outside their patrol car on the Golden Freeway (Highway 58) near the intersection with Washington Avenue conducting an accident investigation shortly before the accident. They were hit by the suspected drunk driver's vehicle.

The officers were trapped under the vehicle. The male officer died at the scene of the accident.

The injured officer is female. She was taken to hospital and the extent of her injuries is unknown.

During the investigation into the fatal accident, Highway 58 was closed in the area surrounding the accident for an extended period of time.

The deceased officer was in the military before becoming a police officer. His wife asked that his name not be released to the media at this time.

“He was an amazing person. “He had a long, stoic career in the military, where he flew Black Hawk helicopters and served as a commander,” said Golden Police Chief Joe Harvey. “He will leave behind a wonderful wife, sister and parents.”

“Internally, he is survived by 71 members of his Golden Family,” an emotional Harvey told reporters on Tuesday night.

Dave Aguilera, First Alert's chief meteorologist, says Golden received at least 8 inches of snow from the storm, which began dumping moisture Monday evening.