Reported injuries include fractures in both legs, a collapsed lung and a dislocated shoulder, and he is continuing his recovery at home in Colorado Springs.
DENVER, CO - October 25, 2026
A Berthoud Fire Protection District lieutenant, Ken Bradley, was seriously injured in a head-on crash with a wrong-way driver on Interstate 25 in Denver on the morning of May 17. According to the Reporter-Herald, the wrong-way driver died in the crash. Bradley is now recovering at home and hopes to return to work in the spring.
Key Facts
- Date: Morning of May 17; first reported October 25, 2026
- Location: Northbound I-25 in Denver, in the HOV lane near 20th Street
- Type of crash: Head-on collision with a wrong-way driver
- Vehicles involved: A truck owned by the Berthoud Fire Protection District and the wrong-way driver's vehicle
- Injuries / fatalities: One driver died; Lt. Ken Bradley suffered multiple serious injuries
- Responding agencies: Local dispatch, firefighters and EMS
- Reported by: Reporter-Herald
Crash Overview
Bradley was driving to work on I-25 on the morning of May 17 when a vehicle traveling the wrong way in the northbound HOV lane near 20th Street struck his truck head-on. The other driver died in the crash. An off-duty Denver firefighter who stopped at the scene called local dispatch directly, which reportedly saved a few minutes of response time.
Bradley described his own injuries to arriving firefighters and EMS staff and told them which parts of his body hurt. Crews cut away the truck's roof and doors to reach him, and he was eventually pulled out through the back of the vehicle.
Reported injuries include fractures in both legs, a concussion, a collapsed lung, a dislocated right shoulder, several broken ribs, a large laceration on his left thigh, and a right foot that was nearly lost. He has had several surgeries, including one that installed a metal device to gradually draw his shin bone down toward his foot so the two would fuse. He is not expected to have ankle function once the device is removed, which he hopes will happen in November.