Hit-and-Run Investigations and Skip Tracing in Colorado

01The legal duty

What Colorado Law Requires of a Driver After a Crash

Under C.R.S. § 42-4-1601, a driver involved in an accident that results in injury or death must immediately stop at or as close as possible to the scene, or return to it, and remain until the duties set out in § 42-4-1603 are met. The statute generally grades the offense by the harm caused: a class 1 misdemeanor traffic offense where someone is injured, a class 4 felony where the injury is serious, and a class 3 felony where a person dies. A conviction also leads to license revocation.

Those penalties explain why some drivers run, and why they work hard to hide afterward. A driver who fears a felony may park the car out of sight, delay repairs or have it fixed out of state. That behavior is what a private hit-and-run investigation is built to uncover. We support, and never replace, the police investigation. Clients facing criminal questions on the other side of a crash can review our felony defense investigations, and attorneys can read about our support for Colorado counsel.

• Injury: class 1 misdemeanor traffic offense
• Serious bodily injury: class 4 felony
• Death: class 3 felony
• Conviction: license revocation

02Speed matters

The First Week Decides What Evidence Survives

Most useful video in a hit-and-run comes from private cameras: doorbells, gas stations, convenience stores, apartment complexes and businesses along the route. Many systems record over themselves within days. Our first step is a canvass of the area around the scene and the likely escape route, asking owners to preserve footage and, where they agree, to share a copy. We log every camera, its owner and its retention period, even when the answer is no, the same discipline our employee theft investigations apply to store video.

We also return to the scene to document lighting, sight lines, lane markings and debris that may have been missed. Plastic trim, mirror housings and headlamp fragments often carry part numbers that narrow the make, model and year. Witnesses who left before police arrived can sometimes be found through nearby businesses or regular commuters. Our Colorado surveillance investigations team handles the follow-up observation, and our witness background checks help counsel judge each account.

03Finding the car

From a Partial Plate or Paint Transfer to a Registered Owner

A partial plate, a color, a damaged headlight or a distinctive roof rack is often enough to start. We combine those clues with debris identification and canvass results, then work through lawful records to identify candidate vehicles and owners. Federal law limits who can obtain personal information from motor vehicle records and for what purpose, and litigation and insurance purposes have specific rules. We use only permissible sources and note the basis for each step.

Once a likely vehicle emerges, we look for it from public places, document visible damage or recent repairs, and note where it is kept. Body shops, salvage yards and online parts listings sometimes reveal a car being quietly fixed. We never confront the driver, touch the vehicle or enter private property, because doing so could endanger people and harm the criminal case. Our stolen car investigations cover the related case where the car was reported stolen after the crash, and our skip tracing team handles the owner locate.

04Colorado roads

Urban Corridors, Mountain Highways and Long Escape Routes

Colorado hit-and-runs happen in very different settings. In Denver, Aurora and Colorado Springs, a fleeing driver can disappear into dense neighborhoods within minutes, but cameras are plentiful. On I-25 between Fort Collins and Pueblo, or on I-70 through the mountains, a driver can be in another county before the first officer arrives, and cameras are scarce. Winter traction rules on the I-70 corridor from September through May also change who is on the road and when, and our Pueblo investigators know the southern end of the I-25 corridor.

Rural crashes on the Eastern Plains or the Western Slope may have no camera at all, so witness work and vehicle tracing carry the case. We tailor the canvass to the setting, focusing on fuel stops, rest areas and the businesses a driver would pass. Pedestrian and cyclist crashes in Boulder and Fort Collins often benefit from transit and campus-area cameras. Clients on the Pikes Peak corridor can start with our Colorado Springs investigators, and Western Slope clients with our Grand Junction team.

05Civil claims

Deadlines for Injury and Wrongful Death Claims

A criminal case and a civil claim can run on separate tracks. Colorado's general limitations statute, C.R.S. § 13-80-102, sets two years for most wrongful death actions, and four years for a wrongful death claim against a defendant who committed vehicular homicide and, in the same episode, left the scene. Injury claims arising from motor vehicle use fall under a separate provision, and your attorney must confirm the exact deadline for your situation.

Even if the driver is never found, organized evidence matters. Many people turn to their own insurance coverage after a hit-and-run, and insurers usually want proof that the crash happened as described and was reported promptly. We document the scene, the canvass and every lead so counsel can present a clear claim. Families who lost someone can read about our wrongful death investigations, and injured clients can see how our insurance claim surveillance work differs from this case.

06The last step

Locating a Driver Who Has Gone to Ground

Identifying a driver and finding one are separate problems. Some drivers move, stay with relatives or leave Colorado entirely after a crash, especially when a felony charge is possible. We trace the person through court, property, employment and permissible-purpose records, confirm a current address in the field, and report it to the detective and your attorney. If counsel files a civil case, our Colorado process serving division can deliver the summons and complaint.

When the driver works hard to avoid contact, our evasive person skip tracing methods apply. If the driver turns out to be uninsured or underinsured, counsel may want to know what the person owns before deciding how to proceed, and our asset investigations in Colorado answer that question. Every step is documented with dates, sources and observations, so the file holds up when someone later asks how we found the driver.

07Our standard

Clear Roles, Written Scope and Honest Limits

We are clear about what a private investigation can and cannot do. We cannot arrest anyone, force a business to hand over footage or guarantee that charges will follow. We can move quickly, ask the right people, and give police and counsel organized, verifiable facts. Delator Group is a licensed Tennessee private investigation firm in Nashville with no Colorado office, and it holds Colorado work to Tennessee's standard because Colorado no longer licenses investigators at the state level.

Nothing is billed before you approve a written scope and budget, and our DUI defense investigations follow the same rule when a crash involves impairment. Investigative time is billed at $100 per hour, field-work locates start at $1,000, civil litigation support carries a $1,000 minimum, and a remote basic skip trace is $102 when the owner simply needs to be found. One leader stays responsible for the file from start to finish. Our Colorado investigation pricing lists every rate, and our investigator vetting guide helps you compare firms.

Services

Hit-and-Run Investigations in Colorado: Our Services

• Camera canvass and preservationWe identify private cameras along the scene and escape route, request preservation in writing and collect copies where owners agree.Learn more
• Scene documentationPhotographs and notes on lighting, sight lines, markings and debris, made as soon as possible after the crash and dated for the file.Learn more
• Debris and vehicle identificationPart numbers on trim, mirrors and lamp fragments help narrow the make, model and year of the vehicle that left the scene.Learn more
• Witness locates and interviewsWe find people who saw the crash and left, then interview those willing to talk, recording only where Colorado's one-party consent rule allows.Learn more
• Owner and driver identificationLawful, permissible-purpose records connect a vehicle to its registered owner and, through further work, to the person who was driving.Learn more
• Repair and salvage checksWe watch for signs that the vehicle is being repaired, sold for parts or hidden, documenting what is visible from public places.Learn more
• Driver locateWhen the driver has moved or left Colorado, we trace and confirm a current address for the detective and for counsel.Learn more
• Wrongful death supportCareful investigation for families and counsel after a fatal hit-and-run, organized around Colorado's limitation periods and the practical needs of civil litigation.Learn more
• Service of the lawsuitOnce counsel files, our process serving division delivers the summons and complaint and returns a signed proof of service for the court.Learn more

How it works

How a Hit-and-Run Case Proceeds

1. 01

   Rapid intake

   A member of leadership reviews the police report number, the scene location, any vehicle description and the injuries, then identifies which cameras need attention first.

2. 02

   Written scope and budget

   We set out the canvass area, the follow-up steps, the expected hours and the cost in writing. Work begins only after you or your attorney approve.

3. 03

   Canvass, trace and locate

   Investigators preserve footage, document the scene, identify the vehicle and owner, and locate the driver, sharing urgent findings with the assigned detective along the way.

4. 04

   Report for police and counsel

   You receive a sourced report with the camera log, witness summaries, vehicle findings and driver location, written so a detective or attorney can verify each point.

Compare

Leaving the Scene in Colorado: Penalties by Outcome

Statewide coverage

Hit-and-Run Cases Across Colorado

Delator assigns investigators to hit-and-run cases throughout Colorado, from Denver's busy arterials and the I-25 corridor to mountain highways, Western Slope valleys and rural plains roads. Metro Denver clients can begin with our Denver investigators, east-metro clients with our team serving Aurora, and northern Colorado clients with our Fort Collins investigators. Delator keeps no Colorado office. We move quickly on camera preservation, coordinate with the investigating agency, keep one leader responsible for the case, and confirm the scope and price in writing before any work begins.

• Denver
• Aurora
• Colorado Springs
• Fort Collins
• Westminster
• Grand Junction
• All of Colorado

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Every service

Investigations available in Colorado

Every service below is available in Colorado and across Colorado, run by the same Delator Group leadership that manages our Tennessee casework. Choose a service to read how it works in Colorado.

Service areas

Private investigators across Colorado