BOULDER, Colo. — On Friday afternoon, crews were repairing deep tire cuts on the 40-yard line of Folsom Field after a man eluded police, crashed through a stadium gate and drove onto the turf.
“In 25 years of policing, this is one of the most interesting, unique things I’ve seen because you don’t even think someone can drive out onto the football field,” Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn told 9NEWS.
Court documents obtained from the Boulder County Justice Center outline allegations against Karl Hagland, 48, who is accused of causing a hit-and-run crash and then leading police on a chase for several miles through the city until he ended up surrendering on Folsom Field.
In the documents, police accuse Hagland of fleeing the first crash near Arapahoe Avenue and Foothills Parkway around 6:45 p.m. Thursday, prompting the police pursuit.
An officer wrote that Hagland hit another vehicle, a tree, a street sign and nearly hit pedestrians. At some point during the pursuit, officers backed off for safety reasons.
“The level of speed presented a high level of danger to other drivers on the road and the community,” according to court documents.
Eventually, CU Boulder Campus Police spotted Hagland drive north on Folsom Street and into the parking lot north of the Folsom Field, where he crashed through a stadium gate and then drove onto the field.
"The vehicle came to rest at the 40-yard line," the documents say.
Police eventually got Hagland to surrender.
“It appeared that he was having a manic episode and was yelling incoherently,” an officer wrote in court records.
University of Colorado Athletics estimated damage to Folsom Field at $100,000 to $150,000, the officer wrote.
Hagland has been charged with vehicular assault, eluding police, leaving the scene of an accident and reckless endangerment.
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