WGNO

‘Race me or die’: Suspect in hit-and-run ‘rampage’ also stopped to high-five transient, police say

DENVER (KDVR) — A 23-year-old man is accused in a series of hit-and-run incidents Saturday near downtown Denver that arrest documents called a “rampage.”

According to the documents, police were called to a disturbance at a Burger King around 8:30 a.m.

Tyler Hazell, the driver of a 2003 Honda Pilot, fled before officers arrived, the documents said.

Officials report Hazell stopped at a traffic light, then drove backwards the wrong way for two blocks until he stopped next to a black Honda Civic. Documents say he challenged two women in the Civic to “race me or die.”

The women tried to get away by making a u-turn, but Hazell followed and rammed the back of their car, then rammed the side of it several times, the documents said.

Hazell finally fled and the women called 911, the documents said.

Hazell then drove off the roadway onto a sidewalk attempting to run over two men who were walking, the documents said. He hit one of them, fracturing his pelvis and leg, according to the arrest documents.

He later stopped to high-five a transient and take a photo, arrest documents said.

Afterward, the documents said, he rammed two Denver police cars, injuring an officer and a prisoner in one car and another officer in the other. The officer and prisoner were taken to the hospital, treated and released. The other officer was treated for minor injuries.

Hazell is accused of then driving back to the parking lot of the Burger King and ramming an empty parked truck.

After a chase through several jurisdictions, Hazell was arrested near the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge in Commerce City.

Hazell faces a first-degree assault charge. He also has a felony warrant. The Denver District Attorney’s office will determine final charges.