Stolen vehicle crashes into garage causing fire, partial collapse after pursuit: Police

DENVER (KDVR) -- Neighbors are shaken up after a vehicle reportedly sped through the Montclair neighborhood of Denver and crashed into a garage which then burst into flames following a stolen vehicle pursuit in Aurora. Police said the driver of the alleged stolen vehicle fled the scene and has not yet been located. The Denver Fire Department said its crews responded to the scene near 11th Avenue and Oneida Street around 2 a.m. after a vehicle crashed into the attached garage of a house, "knocking out supporting members, causing a partial collapse." The fire department said the garage caught on fire shortly after, prompting a full response. A spokesperson for the Aurora Police Department said officers had located a stolen Subaru near Colfax Avenue and Peoria Street around 1:30 a.m. and attempted to pull the vehicle over, but the driver refused, and a pursuit was authorized. Aurora officers lost sight of the vehicle as it entered the Denver city boundaries about five minutes in, and the pursuit was discontinued, police said. Officers searched the area and discovered that the vehicle had crashed into a residential garage about two minutes after discontinuing the pursuit. The police department said residents nearby were evacuated for their safety and there were ultimately no injuries reported. The driver of the Subaru ran from the scene, according to police, and has not been located or arrested. One neighbor in the area told FOX31 on Monday morning that the neighborhood was woken up to a huge bang. "It was a car literally catapulting at high speed down the hill on 11th Avenue toward Monaco, tried to make a turn, crashed into the garage at 11th and Oneida and burst into flame," neighbor Barbara Mattison said. "There was an explosion, there were several explosions." She said this was just one of many examples of dangerous hazards that have happened in the area, and hopes this will catch the city's attention. "We have a traffic group that is trying to address this problem, trying so hard to get the city's attention over this because this is only one of many incidents, and we are worried about daytime incidents, kids who walk from Montclair school a block away, families who walk, it is a terrible emergency right now in our neighborhood, we need to get the city's attention," Mattison said. Police have no suspect information to provide at this time but said anyone with information should contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers. The Aurora Police Department implemented a revised pursuit policy last spring allowing officers to pursue under the following circumstances, according to the APD website: DFD said investigators are responding, and Aurora police said its traffic investigation unit is investigating the crash.