Motorcyclist struck in hit-and-run incident accidentally shot himself in the chest

In an unusual chain reaction, police in Black Hawk, Colorado, say a motorcyclist was shot in the chest when a gun he was carrying went off as a hit-and-run car struck the motorcycle.

The hit-and-run happened at about 10:15am on Wednesday in Black Hawk. A four-door Chevrolet sedan hit the motorcycle and the rider was thrown to the ground, Police Chief Stephen Cole said.


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The impact of the collision caused a handgun the motorcyclist was carrying to fire, shooting the rider in the chest. The car driver fled the scene. The motorcyclist, a 60-year-old Pennsylvania man, suffered serious injuries and was rushed by ambulance to a Denver hospital.

Police recovered the handgun at the scene. Gilpin County sheriff's deputies later found the Chevy sedan abandoned at a campground north of Black Hawk. The driver, a man in his 30s or 40s, ran from the car. Police arrested the hit-and-run suspect at about 1:30pm.