A Colorado parole officer was struck by a vehicle driven by a parolee and killed Thursday afternoon in a hit-and-run crash in Colorado Springs, authorities said.
Andre Stancil, executive director of the Colorado Department of Corrections, declined to identify the officer at a news conference Thursday night.
“My heart is broken for the family of the officer,” Stancil said.
Colorado Springs police said the officer was a pedestrian when they were struck by a vehicle at the intersection of North Spruce Street and West Bijou Street at about 3:45 p.m. That’s just west of downtown Colorado Springs.
A second parole officer was also struck in the crash. An update on their condition wasn’t released Thursday night.
The man driving the vehicle, identified by Colorado Springs police as 41-year-old Justin Andrew Kula, fled, authorities said, but was later arrested.
Police and the Department of Corrections declined to release further information on the officer’s death pending a news conference scheduled for Friday. But Kula is listed as a parolee in the state’s prisoner database.
The database shows Kula was convicted in three separate 2020 felony cases out of El Paso County. His parole discharge date is listed as being Feb. 24, 2026.