Giron v. Hice.
2025 COA 17. No. 20CA1603. Colorado Governmental Immunity Act—Immunity and Partial Waiver—Emergency Vehicles.
February 20, 2025
Officer Hice clocked a speeding vehicle while on radar patrol. He made a U-turn and accelerated to pursue the suspected speeder but didn’t turn on his emergency lights or siren. Half a mile down the road, Walter and Samuel Giron were at a traffic light waiting to make a left turn across oncoming traffic. After the suspected speeder sped through that intersection, Walter turned left. Officer Hice, who was traveling over 103 miles per hour, tried to avoid the Girons vehicle by hitting the brakes and swerving, but he struck the passenger side of the Girons’ van at 75 to 80 miles per hour. The Girons died in the collision, and Officer Hice was severely injured. The plaintiffs sued Officer Hice and the Town of Olathe (town). The district court granted governmental immunity to the town and Officer Hice under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (CGIA) and dismissed the case. The court of appeals reversed the district court’s judgment, but the Colorado Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals’ judgment and remanded the case to the court of appeals to (1) determine whether Officer Hice’s failure to use his lights or siren until the final seconds of his pursuit could have contributed to the accident; (2) analyze whether Officer Hice, as an emergency driver, waived governmental immunity by not refraining from endangering life or property while speeding; and (3) decide whether further remand to the district court is necessary.
On remand, the court of appeals first considered whether remand to the district court is necessary. In Hice v. Giron, 2024 CO 9 at ¶ 3, the Colorado Supreme Court held that “an emergency driver waives CGIA immunity when a plaintiff’s injuries could have resulted from the driver’s failure to use alerts while speeding in pursuit of a suspected or actual lawbreaker.” Because it could apply the supreme court’s test to the facts as found by the district court to make a determination, the court of appeals determined that remand to the district court was unnecessary. Here, about 36 seconds passed between the time Officer Hice initiated his pursuit and the accident. Officer Hice, traveling at over 100 miles per hour, activated his emergency lights just 5 to 10 seconds before the collision. He never activated his siren. The accident occurred during the day when there were clear roads and no obstructions to visibility. The court of appeals thus concluded that Officer Hice’s failure to use his emergency lights or siren until the last 5 to 10 seconds of his pursuit possibly contributed to the accident. Accordingly, Officer Hice and the town waived governmental immunity under CRS § 24-10-106(1)(a).
The district court’s judgment of dismissal was reversed and the case was remanded to the district court to reinstate the plaintiffs’ complaint and to conduct further proceedings.