$350,000 Settlement for Delivery Driver Struck by Off-Duty Officer Racing the Wrong Way on Quebec Street

Shortly after 3 a.m. on April 13, 2021, Christopher Cordova was driving his work truck for Bimbo Bakeries southbound on North Quebec Street in Denver when a vehicle came at him head-on. The other driver was Denver Police Officer Jacob Marsh, who had turned his unmarked city SUV into the northbound lanes and was accelerating to 75 mph in a posted 45 mph zone. Marsh did not activate lights or a siren. He was still traveling at roughly 51 mph at the moment of impact.

The collision fractured Cordova's right leg at the proximal tibia, a break serious enough to require surgery. Surgeons implanted a titanium plate and eight screws to stabilize the bone. Cordova went on medical leave and his arthritis worsened in the months that followed. His medical bills climbed toward $80,000.

Officer Marsh was arrested on an investigation of vehicular assault, a felony, in late April 2021. His criminal case eventually went to trial, where he was acquitted of the traffic charge. Marsh left the Denver Police Department in 2023. Throughout that period, Cordova said the city contacted him only once, to ask whether he would testify against Marsh, and otherwise offered no apology or assistance.

Sean Olson of Olson Personal Injury Lawyers filed suit against the City of Denver and Jacob Marsh in Denver District Court. The complaint documented the speed, the wrong-way travel, and the absence of any emergency justification for driving without warning devices. The case pressed the city on its responsibility for the officer's conduct and the full scope of Cordova's physical and financial losses.

In August 2024, Denver City Council voted to approve a $350,000 settlement. The resolution authorized payment to the Law Office of Sean T. Olson Trust Account in full satisfaction of all claims in Christopher Cordova v. Denver and Jacob Marsh. The settlement came more than three years after the crash and as the city was already tracking over $3.7 million in police-related payouts for 2024 alone.