Runaway Stripped, Justice Drops Hammer

Police car with blue lights flashing at night. — Photo: Shutterstock

A Colorado man hit speeds over 100 mph fleeing deputies, then wound up hiding under a porch wearing nothing but his underwear.

Quick Take

Zakary Dean Hirschfield, 24, of Centennial sped away from a traffic stop and reached speeds topping 100 mph through three Douglas County towns.
Deputies found him hiding under a porch in his underwear after the chase ended.
He pleaded guilty to felony eluding of a peace officer and got five years in prison.
Police pursuits remain a serious nationwide safety issue, with thousands of deaths tied to chases over the past decade.

A Routine Stop Turns Into a Three-City Pursuit

The chase started with a simple traffic stop in Castle Pines in January 2026. A Douglas County Sheriff’s Office deputy pulled Hirschfield over for speeding. Instead of stopping, he accelerated toward the deputy and fled, according to the 23rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office. What followed was a dangerous run through Castle Pines, Highlands Ranch, and Littleton, with speeds topping 100 mph.

High-speed chases through residential areas put everyone at risk, not just the driver. Families were going about their evenings in Highlands Ranch and Littleton while a man who refused to pull over blew past them at triple-digit speeds. That recklessness is exactly why felony eluding carries serious prison time in Colorado, and why prosecutors pushed hard for a real sentence here.

Caught Hiding Under a Porch, Barely Dressed

Hirschfield’s run eventually ended on foot. Deputies tracked him down hiding under a porch, wearing only his underwear, according to reports on the incident. The image of a grown man stripped down and crouched under a stranger’s porch, hoping deputies would walk past, captures exactly the kind of desperate, undignified ending these chases often produce once the driver realizes the car can’t outrun the radio.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office has previously released body camera footage from other local pursuits, giving the public a direct look at how these situations unfold in real time. Whether or not footage from this specific chase surfaces, the facts of the case are undisputed. Hirschfield fled, deputies pursued, and he was found exactly where officers eventually look when a suspect vanishes on foot: underneath the nearest cover.

Five Years in Prison for a Repeat Offender

Hirschfield pleaded guilty to felony eluding of a peace officer. On November 2, 2026, a judge sentenced him to five years in the Colorado Department of Corrections, according to the 23rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office. District Attorney George Brauchler’s office described him as a career criminal whose pattern of reckless behavior finally caught up with him in a courtroom instead of on the road.

A five-year sentence for eluding police sends a clear message that Colorado courts won’t treat high-speed chases as a minor traffic matter. Felony eluding charges exist precisely because a fleeing driver turns an ordinary stop into a rolling threat to everyone nearby. This case shows prosecutors following through on that seriousness rather than letting a repeat offender plea his way into probation.

Why Pursuits Like This One Carry National Weight

Hirschfield’s chase fits into a much bigger and more troubling pattern across the country. A 2024 study published in JAMA Network Open found 4,415 pursuit-related deaths nationwide between 2017 and 2021, with the number climbing each year. Researchers have also warned that these figures likely understate the true toll, since there’s no single national system tracking every chase and crash.

Colorado has its own version of this problem close to home. A Denver Post review found the Westminster Police Department alone logged 376 vehicle pursuits over five years, more than departments in Denver, Aurora, or Colorado Springs combined. Every pursuit carries risk not just for the fleeing driver, but for deputies, bystanders, and other drivers who had no say in the decision to run.

5 years in prison! DA Brauchler speaks about the sentencing of career criminal Zakary Dean Hirschfield#23rdjdaoffice #georgebrauchler #justice #douglascounty @dcsheriff pic.twitter.com/j0wz3VlBTF

— 23rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office (@23rdDA) November 2, 2026

Cases like Hirschfield’s show why departments and prosecutors take eluding charges seriously, even when no one is hurt. A five-year sentence reflects the real danger created the moment a driver decides speed limits and stop signs no longer apply to him. Colorado’s courts delivered consequences that match the risk he created for an entire community, and that outcome should reassure residents that reckless driving still carries real weight in this state.