Daniel Petty

DENVER — A high-speed chase through downtown Denver early Sunday morning ended when the driver of the fleeing vehicle wrapped it around a traffic signal pole, sending the four people in the car to the hospital, authorities say.

A Denver police officer saw the four people get into an altercation with another individual on Lawrence Street downtown.

One of the four allegedly drew a weapon, possibly a handgun, before the group got into the car, said Lt. Scott M. Kaye, commander of the Denver Police Department’s traffic investigations unit.

“An armed person who displays a weapon at other people meets the criteria for pursuit,” Kaye said, speaking from the scene.

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A woman's blue Mitsubishi Eclipse sits in the middle of 14th Avenue and Pearl Street after hitting a signal pole on Wednesday, July 15, 2009. (Daniel Petty, The Denver Post)

DENVER — A woman is in serious but stable condition tonight after her car careened into a curb near 14th Avenue and Pearl Street, then smashed into a traffic signal pole and spun into oncoming traffic.

Officers and witnesses offered conflicting reports about whether another car was involved in triggering the crash.

Several witnesses said that the woman’s car, a sky blue Mitsubishi Eclipse, was in the far left lane at about 7:45 p.m. when a second car clipped her, sending her into a storm drain on the curb, which popped at least one of her tires.

She tried swerving to regain control, but slammed into the pole, and the second car apparently drove away, according to these witnesses.

However, Sgt. Brian J. Conover of the Denver Police Department’s traffic investigations bureau said none of the witnesses that officers had interviewed said another vehicle was involved.

“All the damage seems to be from what she did to it,” he said. “We don’t see what looks like any other car touching it or pushing it in any way.”

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