DENVER — A North Carolina woman in Denver for a wedding this past weekend was left bruised by a driver who hit her and frustrated by the subsequent response from police.
"I don't live in Denver, but I definitely don't trust Denver cops now," Brianna Aab said Tuesday. "It was just a scary, scary thing to happen."
She was walking near E. 17th Avenue and Broadway Saturday night to meet with a group of friends, but she suddenly found herself on the ground.
"(I) had the white walking man symbol, was crossing the street, and a man was making a left turn and he hit me," Aab said.
The driver stayed at the scene, she said.
"The driver came up and was like, 'How are you feeling? I'm so sorry.' He looked really freaked out," Aab said.
But it was what a Denver police officer told her as she sat in an ambulance that left her even more upset.
"'I want you to know we have HALO footage in Denver. You were never hit by a car,'" she the officer told her. "And I immediately freaked out."
The police officer told Aab she had fallen off a scooter based on the footage he saw from nearby police cameras. She was shocked.
"I was like, 'There were witnesses,' and he was like, 'No, I have the footage. You were never hit by a car. You fell, you were on a scooter, into the street,'" Aab said.
Several hours later, as she sought treatment at Denver Health, Aab said a different officer came in and apologized. He said the officer had seen the wrong footage.
The Denver Police Department shared the following statement with Denver7 regarding the incident:
"During the initial response to this crash there was conflicting information due to a separate, unrelated incident. However, as the investigation continued it was confirmed that Ms. Aab was struck by a vehicle, which officers later explained to her. The involved driver remained on scene, was contacted by officers who obtained his name and contact information, and at this time the investigation is ongoing. The Denver Police Department apologizes to Ms. Aab for any confusion or actions that caused her to be frustrated, and the Department looks forward to the opportunity to discuss this matter with her."
The apology, Aab said, isn't enough. She's now worried about her medical bills and the trust that's now broken after a quick trip to Denver.
"I was admitted to the hospital for falling off of a scooter. I don't even know if that is going to work for the insurance company," she said. "It's just crazy to me that they could just treat people like that."
Aab has requested the HALO video, among other records, but DPD denied her requests because the case is still under investigation.