Hit and run alerts

Remember those signs you see on the interstate that give you info on traffic crashes and Amber Alerts? What if you could use those same signs to push information on hit and runs and help solve them.

John Swann is a hit and run survivor who got hit last March while walking across the street near downtown Colorado Springs. The driver took off. John says he’s all for the use of these electronic billboards to help find the person who hit him, “In today’s society, understanding the fact that we do have limited resources, the more people and eyes out there watching is positive. You can’t go wrong, there.”

Larry Stevenson is a former Denver Police officer who is the founder of Medina Alerts. He is pushing to get hit and run information messages included on the electronic highway signs. State Lawmakers would have to agree and push legislation to make that happen on the signs. Medina Alerts is already working in Denver to alert people through sources like Crime Stoppers social media about hit and run accidents. The message is getting through loud and clear because there have been arrests because of the information that is being spread. Stevenson says his Medina Alerts are about to go on line in the city of Aurora. He wants to spread the word in Southern Colorado, too. He is going to reach out to police departments in SoCo.

I talked with the Pikes Peak Area Crime Stoppers organization about the Medina Alerts and if the group would like to be included. Kevin Holt who is with Pikes Peak Crime Stoppers says he’s interested and would like to get more info from Stevenson about the alerts.

I’ll keep you in the loop about the progress to expand the Medina Alerts and to get hit and run information on the highway electronic billboards.