Two Durango residents were recovering Monday after being struck by a vehicle while crossing a road downtown.
The hit-and-run crash occurred shortly after 2 a.m. near East Second Avenue and College Drive.
Darby Hamer and Damon Balfour were crossing College Drive from north to south when a Toyota Tacoma failed to slow down or stop, hitting both of them, Hamer said Monday during an interview with The Durango Herald.
“I went up over the hood,” said Hamer, who suffered a fractured pelvis and a gash to her forehead that required 10 stitches. “I just remember crawling out of the street and wiggling my toes and making sure I wasn’t dead.”
Balfour suffered road rash to his back and was on crutches for a hurt knee, she said.
Durango police confirmed the events of the crash.
After some detective work, they arrested Cruz Baca, 38, of Durango, on suspicion of vehicular assault, driving under the influence of alcohol and reckless driving.
According to Hamer and a police affidavit filed in La Plata County Combined Courts, the pickup truck continued west on College Drive without stopping, but several people who witnessed the crash chased it to Main Avenue where they were able to obtain a partial license plate number and vehicle description.
Police dispatchers identified a gold Toyota Tacoma matching the partial license plate number. Police responded to 1208 Avenida del Sol where they located a vehicle matching that description in the parking lot.
“The truck appeared to have fresh damage on the front of the vehicle,” the affidavit says. “The Toyota was missing a front right head light and parking light. There also was a large smudge on the front right bumper, the side mirror was collapsed, there were fresh scratches on the front quarter panel and there was a large smudge and hand print on the hood.”
Police found a piece of a broken parking light at the scene of the crash that matched the Toyota Tacoma found in the parking lot, the affidavit says.
Officers made contact with Baca at 3:45 a.m. He had slurred speech, a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, and he admitted to driving earlier that night, the affidavit says. Police asked Baca if anyone else was driving his car, and he said, “Nobody drives my car but me,” the affidavit says.
Baca said he drank three Pinstripe beers earlier that evening at Eighth Avenue Tavern. He admitted to driving west on College Drive and turning on Main Avenue or Camino del Rio.
The police report makes no mention of statements he may have in regard to hitting pedestrians.
Baca was being held Monday on $10,000 bail at the La Plata County Jail.
Hamer, a mother of two, said she was on her way to catch an Uber after a night at the Wildhorse Saloon. She’s disappointed that more people don’t drink responsibly.
“I feel like people are like, ‘Oh, I don’t want to get a DUI,’” she said. “Nobody ever thinks about there’s a lot of other things that can happen while you’re drunk driving, like hitting a mother of two children in a crosswalk. I’m really glad I didn’t die.”
shane@durangoherald.com
