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Man captures video of over a dozen accidents, 'close calls' at Denver-Aurora intersection

Both cities said review of the area is underway.
Man captures video of over a dozen accidents or near accidents at Denver-Aurora intersection
Posted at 8:22 PM, Nov 04, 2021
and last updated 2021-11-04 23:54:09-04

DENVER — Crashes or near-collisions have happened over a dozen times at an intersection on the border of Denver and Aurora, and a nearby resident is sharing video to prove it.

"It's definitely a chaotic hazard that's not fully thought out," Shihan Qu said.

Since June 2020, Qu has captured crashes and "close calls" at the intersection of Yosemite Street and East 16th Avenue.

One of the videos from May 4 shows two drivers narrowly missing each other. That same day, a truck and a USPS car collided in the intersection.

"It's always holding your breath when driving through here," one driver told Denver7.

In September, Qu's home surveillance captured a three-car pileup. Video from Oct. 21 showed a collision where neither driver called police.

"Both of those people ran, nobody was called," Qu said.

When police are dispatched to the area, it's officers from either Aurora or Denver.

"Denver has the western portion of the roadway and Aurora holds the eastern portion." a spokesperson for the Denver Police Department said.

Qu and others say they believe the intersection has a variety of problems, including high speeds on Yosemite Street and indistinct stop signs on East 16th Avenue.

Data provided by Aurora police counts ten crashes at the intersection since 2019. None of those accidents resulted in injuries or fatalities, but Qu said he's seen some accidents that appeared severe.

"There was a car that was completely overturned in that neighbor's yard, and the ambulance came with the lights on and left with the lights off," he said.

Aurora Public Works provided this statement:

"Aurora coordinates closely with Denver along this corridor and Denver staff has already reached out to our traffic team. We will be meeting with their team to coordinate and review this intersection very soon."

A spokesperson for Denver's Department of Transportation and Infrastructure also weighed in, saying the department plans to work with Denver and Aurora police to determine what and if safety improvements are needed.

"I would like at least to see more attention drawn to these stop signs," Qu said. "If you're paying attention, you're OK, but I think the street design has to accommodate for people who aren't fully paying attention to the system."