WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — When a woman got into a running vehicle that wasn't hers Saturday morning outside a store, a clerk who worked there tried to stop her and was hit by the vehicle, according to the Wheat Ridge Police Department (WRPD).
About 7 a.m. Saturday, police responded to a report of an unwanted person in a business in the 4700 block of Kipling Street, near the intersection with Interstate 70, WRPD said.
As officers arrived on scene, they witnessed the suspect, identified as Ashley Alvarez, 29, get into the vehicle. As she drove away, she hit the clerk, who was trying to stop her, according to police.
The officers pursued the vehicle and took Alvarez into custody at West 64th Avenue and Pecos Street in Adams County, WRPD said.
Alvarez was suspected of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and she was being held in the Jefferson County jail, police said.
The clerk who was hit was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, WRPD said.
Earlier Saturday, police asked people to avoid the area while the investigation was ongoing. The on-ramp from Kipling to I-70 eastbound was closed for a while. All roads reopened by 9:30 a.m.
Anyone with information about the incident can contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers 720-913-7867 or metodenvercrimestoppers.com. Tipsters may remain anonymous and could earn up to $2,000 for tips leading to an arrest.
Metro Denver Crime Stoppers works by assigning a code to people who anonymously submit a tip. Information is shared with law enforcement, and Crime Stoppers are notified at the conclusion of the investigation.
From there, an awards committee reviews the information provided and, if the information leads to an arrest, the tipster will be notified. Rewards can be collected using the code numbers received when the tip was originally submitted.
> More information about Metro Denver Crime Stoppers can be found here.
> Additional Crime Stoppers bulletins can be found here.
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