Driver crashes into Highlands Ranch home, arrested on DUI suspicion

A delivery run turned into a neighborhood safety scare in the 9800 block of Wedgewood Drive when a red Mazda crashed through a Highlands Ranch home and ended up almost entirely inside the living room.

Douglas County Sheriff’s Office deputies and South Metro Fire Rescue firefighters responded to the house Sunday morning, May 10, after the vehicle drove through an exterior wall. Investigators said the driver apparently fell asleep while making deliveries, then was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and reckless driving.

No one was inside the home when the crash happened, and no injuries were reported. That likely kept the incident from becoming far worse, but it still left the property with significant damage and a homeowner facing repairs, insurance claims and the disruption of a vehicle inside the house.

Photos released by the sheriff’s office showed the Mazda deep in the structure, near furniture in the living room area. The scene underscored how quickly a routine neighborhood delivery can turn into a criminal investigation and a structural-damage call, especially on residential streets where cars, pedestrians and package traffic mix with daily family life.

The crash also landed in one of Douglas County’s largest communities. Highlands Ranch, an unincorporated area of the county, had a population of 105,631 in the 2020 census, making it a dense suburban corridor where roads like Wedgewood Drive carry everything from commuter traffic to school runs and daily delivery routes.

State data show the broader danger behind a single wreck. The Colorado Department of Transportation says Colorado has had more than 1,300 impaired-driving-related crash fatalities since 2020. In 2024 alone, the state recorded 214 impaired-driving-related traffic deaths, and impaired drivers were involved in 30% of all traffic deaths.

That makes the Highlands Ranch crash more than an odd scene on a quiet street. It points to a recurring public-safety problem for Douglas County, where fatigue, possible intoxication and constant delivery traffic can collide on the same block, with consequences that reach from the roadway into a family home.