Police say the chase lasted under a minute before the driver lost control and hit a pole at East Alameda Avenue and South Peoria Street.
AURORA, CO — Two people in a suspected stolen sedan were killed late Monday morning after crashing into a light pole during a brief police pursuit at East Alameda Avenue and South Peoria Street, Aurora police said. The crash happened around 11:30 a.m. as officers tried to stop the vehicle and the driver sped away.
Authorities said the case began with an alert about a stolen four-door sedan and ended minutes later with a wreck that shut down a major intersection on Aurora’s east side. The pursuit, initiated after officers located the vehicle near East Mississippi Avenue and South Peoria Street, lasted less than a minute, according to Aurora Police Department Commander Justin Shipley. The crash comes amid renewed debate over Aurora’s pursuit policy and the department’s use of its Real Time Information Center to track stolen vehicles. No other motorists or bystanders were hurt, police said, and the names of the two people who died have not yet been released pending notification of family.
Shipley said officers were alerted to the stolen car at 11:26 a.m. Monday. With assistance from the city’s Real Time Information Center, analysts tracked the sedan to the area of East Mississippi Avenue and South Peoria Street at about 11:32 a.m., where patrol officers attempted a traffic stop. Police said the driver headed north on Peoria at high speed. As the vehicle tried to make a left turn onto East Alameda, the driver lost control and the car slammed into a pole at the northwest corner of the intersection. “The officers were having a hard time safely keeping up with the suspect due to his speed and erratic driving behavior,” Shipley said. A neighbor reported hearing a loud boom, and debris from the impact damaged a nearby fence, but no homes or other vehicles were struck.
The driver and a woman in the car died at the scene, Shipley said. Investigators believe both were adults. Police said the sedan had been reported stolen in Fort Collins over the weekend and was flagged by automated license plate readers before officers moved to stop it in Aurora. Photographs from the scene showed the front of the vehicle crumpled against a traffic pole and shattered glass scattered across multiple lanes. The intersection—typically busy with neighborhood traffic and commercial access—was closed for several hours as the traffic unit documented skid marks and measured distances for a reconstruction. Police said an internal review of the pursuit will be conducted, as is standard after incidents involving deaths. The Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office will determine the cause and manner of death and identify the victims once family members are notified.
Aurora revised its vehicle pursuit policy earlier this year, allowing pursuits in more situations, including for suspected stolen vehicles, according to city officials and prior department statements. Since the policy change in March, police have recorded more than 100 pursuits and several pursuit-related crashes, department data show, though officials say most do not involve injuries. The Real Time Information Center, which formally launched this year, has expanded the use of license plate readers and other cameras to alert officers to vehicles reported stolen and to support active calls. Police leaders have said the system has aided arrests and recoveries of stolen vehicles, while civil liberties advocates and some policing experts continue to question how and when to chase in traffic-heavy corridors like Peoria Street and Alameda Avenue.
Investigators are reviewing in-car footage, traffic cameras and witness statements to piece together the seconds between the attempted stop and the crash. Police said the pursuit lasted “less than a minute,” but did not release an exact duration. Detectives are also working with Fort Collins authorities to confirm when and where the sedan was taken and to determine whether additional crimes are connected to the vehicle. No firearms were reported recovered at the scene as of Monday afternoon. Toxicology testing for the driver will be part of the coroner’s review, which can take several weeks. Police did not immediately say how fast the car was traveling before the impact or whether seat belts were in use.
As officers worked the crash, traffic control teams diverted vehicles away from Alameda and Peoria, creating backups along nearby Mississippi Avenue, Jamaica Street and several residential cut-throughs. Business owners in the area said lunchtime customers were delayed or turned around at barricades. “It was just a sudden bang and then sirens,” said Jose Martinez, who lives a block away. “You could see the pole bent and pieces everywhere.” Another resident, Elaine Porter, said she saw officers arriving “almost right behind” the car as dust hung over the intersection. Both described the corner as “always busy,” with left-turn queues that stack during midday.
Police said the department’s Traffic Investigations unit will lead the crash reconstruction, while the Professional Standards Section will run an administrative review of the pursuit under current policy. Results of the reconstruction could be forwarded to prosecutors if investigators find evidence of separate criminal conduct before the crash. The intersection reopened after investigators completed measurements and cleared debris; police did not immediately provide an exact reopening time. Officials said they expect to release the identities of the two people after the coroner’s office notifies relatives. Aurora police said they plan to provide an update once the coroner’s identifications are complete and preliminary findings from the reconstruction are available.
As of Monday evening, the case remained in its initial phase: next-of-kin notifications, crash mapping and transfer of the bodies to the Arapahoe County Coroner. Police said the next public update is expected after identifications and preliminary autopsy results are complete later this week.
Author note: Last updated December 1, 2025.