A state trooper left the hospital Sunday “on his own two feet” after a driver hit his patrol car on the side of Interstate 270 early Saturday morning. The trooper fell over a bridge barrier and down a 30-foot embankment of the South Platte River as he tried to get out of the way. 

The fall seriously injured Trooper Kevin Bagley, but he was conscious by the time his fellow troopers got to him and the injuries were not life-threatening, said Packard in a news conference Monday.

He said Bagley left the hospital Sunday, but declined to give more details about the trooper’s injuries.

Data provided by the State Patrol shows 479 drivers and passengers died in vehicle crashes statewide last year.

Colorado State Patrol Chief Matthew Packard said to try to curb deadly crashes, he has asked troopers to crack down on behavior linked to wrecks, such as reckless and impaired driving. A new state task force of troopers will work with local law enforcement to target DUI enforcement based on where data shows the most crashes, he said. 

“We got lucky,” Packard said, explaining Bagley could have gotten hurt much worse.

“But I’m not willing to rely on luck.”

Packard identified the driver of the car in the crash as Cesar Manriquez, 30, who also was seriously injured.

He has been arrested on suspicion of vehicular assault with suspected impairment and vehicular assault with reckless driving, though Packard said as of early Monday afternoon Manriquez had not yet been charged. 

Troopers had responded early Saturday morning to a one-car crash on I-270 just southeast of Interstate 76 in Adams County. Around 3:45 a.m., a driver hit an unoccupied State Patrol car, which blocked the right lane with its lights flashing during the crash investigation, at high speed. The driver of that crash, 22-year-old Ivan Hernandez, has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Bagley was doing roadside sobriety tests with the driver when the third crash that forced the trooper over the highway’s barrier happened, around 4:30 a.m. Bagley has worked for the State Patrol for two years.

Packard pleaded with the public to drive safely. He said he believes each traffic death he hears about is preventable. Twelve State Patrol cars have been hit so far in 2023 on the sides of roads with their lights flashing, compared to eight in all of 2022. He said the incidents often involve high speed and drug or alcohol use, not uncommonly in bad weather.

“All that boils down to are people that are making really poor decisions in a really dangerous environment,” Packard said.