Hit-and-Run Driver Races Past Runners in Denver Marathon

A hit-and-run driver slammed through a barricade for the Colfax Marathon on Sunday and raced past runners on the opposite side of the highway, narrowly missing pedestrians.

There were no reports of any injuries.

Retired Denver police officer Lester Melonakis says he saw the vehicle speeding down the four-lane highway and yelled for pedestrians to get out of the way. The vehicle was found abandoned a short time later.

The driver was first spotted sleeping in a running vehicle. When officers tried to contact him, he took off southbound on Wadsworth Boulevard and hit several cars and a building.

After that, police say the driver crashed through a barricade and turned onto the marathon route. Police lost sight of him when he went into Denver.