ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Pictures that Allison Fulton shared with Denver7 show the damage left to her SUV after she says a driver crashed into her while she was parked on a street.
"I was checking some social media real fast, and next thing you know, I got smashed from behind," Fulton said.
The crash happened Wednesday in Littleton while parked outside of the home of a client of her care-giving business.
"It's pretty terrifying. I actually watched the person back up off my car and just kind of drive away. I tried to jump out and see if I could remember his license plate, but in the heat of the moment, I wasn't able to remember," Fulton said.
Because of the damage, she's borrowing her father's car, which is only a temporary solution. The collision repair shop is telling her it will take at least two months before it's fixed. She's also not yet sure what insurance is going to do.
"Now, I'm left without a vehicle, and being a single mother with a small business, working for elders in their homes — I'm not quite sure how I'm going to get to help my clients that depend on me day to day or week by week," Fulton said.
Denver7 learned about what happened to Fulton after she posted about it on NextDoor. There, we found multiple posts from people whose cars have also been hit by hit-and-run drivers.
We pulled the numbers from the Denver Police Department's open data catalog, which shows, despite all the social media posts, hit-and-runs are trending downward in Denver:
- 2019: 6,364
- 2020: 4,810
- 2021: 5,781
- 2022: 4,898
For Fulton, the numbers don't matter. What happened to her should never have.
"I was more upset at the fact that the person just didn't stop to see if I was OK," she said.
According to Colorado law, if you hit a parked car, you are supposed to notify the owner of that car by, at the very least, leaving a note behind with your name, address and vehicle registration number. You're also supposed to report it to police.
Not doing so is a class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense, which could come with a minimum of 10 days in jail or a $150 fine if convicted.
