A teenage driver was taken into custody early Tuesday morning after an early morning pursuit with Arvada police.
It happened just before 4 a.m. when an Arvada police officer saw a silver sedan speeding southbound on Wadsworth Avenue near 68th Avenue. That officer said the car was obviously going above the 45 mph speed limit. Turning on the flashing lights of his patrol vehicle, the officer tried to stop the speeding driver, but it sped up and fled before hitting a curb, going airborne into a gas station parking lot and crashing into a light pole. The collision was captured on the gas station's security camera.
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An image from a security video shows the car crashing into a light pole. Arvada Police
"It very easily could've been a fatality," said Arvada PD Detective Dave Snelling.
According to the arrest affidavit, 18-year-old Daniel Hummel was behind the wheel. Last month, he was arrested for eluding troopers from the Colorado State Patrol in Jefferson County, reaching speeds of 125 miles an hour, per court documents.
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Daniel Hummel Arvada Police
"[Our investigation] discovers he's out on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond, meaning that he just promises to reappear, leaves on some conditions," explained Snelling. "Obviously he didn't abide by some of those things and here we have it again."
It's a dangerous consequence, Snelling believes, of PR bonds.
"It takes so much to get somebody arrested and through the jail and through the process," Snelling said. "While they're still awaiting a court process, they are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, but it would really be protective of the community if there was some responsibility set to make sure that we're not committing crimes between the time we're arrested and the time we do go to court."
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Tire marks are seen on the road where the vehicle went off the road. CBS
Like alleged repeat offenders like Hummel, who -- according to the arrest affidavit -- told police, "Sometimes getting in high-speed chases with y'all is fun." And, on the night of crash in Arvada, with three passengers in his car, said he was going upwards of 80 miles an hour.
"To elude police with a carload of people, incredibly dangerous," said Snelling.
After the crash, two passengers were treated for minor injuries and the third was taken to the hospital. Court documents reveal that a passenger suffered several serious fractures to her back.
On Wednesday, a judge set a $75,000 cash bond for Hummel who is being held in the Jefferson County Jail. He is facing numerous charges, including:
• Three counts of felony eluding
• Two counts of vehicular assault
• One count of DUI, as well as other traffic-related offenses
Hummel is due in court for a formal filing of charges on May 28.
Kelly Werthmann
Kelly Werthmann is the weekend evening anchor and a weekday reporter at CBS News Colorado. Read her latest reports or check out her bio and send her an email.