Jason Pohl

jasonpohl@coloradoan.com

Tara Hildebrand doesn't remember exactly what happened in the moments leading up to the debris-scattering wreck that ended Friday's manhunt and high-speed pursuit.

Her family is just thankful she and her two children, ages 9 and 11, lived to talk about it.

Hildebrand was the driver of the Subaru Outback hit in a Friday morning rush-hour crash at the busy Wilson Avenue and Eisenhower Boulevard intersection in Loveland, her family said. Hildebrand's 9-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son were also hospitalized after a hijacked Toyota Prius driven by Adam Fulford ran a red light and collided into the silver sedan.

Hildebrand was listed in serious condition at Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland Saturday afternoon, said Kelly Tracer, a hospital spokeswoman. The girl was listed in fair condition, and the boy had already been released.

Supporters by mid-afternoon chipped in more than $3,000 to a newly founded GoFundMe campaign, "Tara Hildebrand & Kids Accident." It was labeled a "trending" campaign almost immediately, and friends and strangers alike donated money and offered their best wishes to the Loveland family.

“We’re very, very thankful and very taken aback by the overwhelming support," said Rachel Hildebrand, Tara's sister, in a telephone interview with the Coloradoan. She said her family members suffered broken bones and would have limited mobility for some time but they were in good spirits overall.

They might even all be out of the hospital this week.

“It’ll be a long recovery," she said. "We definitely appreciate the support that’s already been given and people's thoughts and prayers.”

At the family’s request, the Coloradoan is not going to name the boy and girl at this time.

The pursuit-ending-crash that left them injured capped a hectic series of events that started with an attempt to serve a warrant at a Fort Collins apartment after 33-year-old Fulford, of Loveland, skipped a court date related to a March 11 arrest involving heroin and a loaded rifle.

After dodging law enforcement at Scotch Pines Condominiums on Thursday, Fulford reportedly shot an unidentified taxi driver in the leg and somehow managed to hunker down near Horsetooth Reservoir while a host of law enforcement resources — approximately 75 officers and even a Denver police helicopter — searched into the wee hours of Friday.

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Fulford was spotted about 8 a.m. Friday, waving and pointing a handgun at motorists, and he eventually carjacked a man driving a black Prius near the area that searchers had combed just hours prior, the sheriff's office said.

Authorities who remained in the area spotted the stolen Prius and pursued as Fulford hit speeds up to 100 mph south along Taft Hill Road into Loveland. After dodging one spike strip on the north side of the city, Fulford ran a red light at the intersection of Wilson Avenue and U.S. Highway 34, smashing into the Subaru.

“Pursuits are always something that we’re very cautious about how we initiate and how we continue,” Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith said during a Friday evening news conference. “… When we have an individual like Mr. Fulford, not only with the history he’s had but with his actions of the carjacking, shooting a victim, the other carjacking, et cetera, the reality is the option of terminating the pursuit, the option of turning and going the other way doesn’t exist. These are the most challenging for deputies.”

Formal charges against Fulford are pending, and he remained listed in critical condition at MCR Saturday afternoon. Additional details about the investigation were not made available Saturday.

Anyone with information about the search near Horsetooth Reservoir is asked to contact Drew Weber with the sheriff's office at 970-498-5172. Fort Collins police are investigating the crash in Loveland, and authorities request any witnesses to contact Officer Drew Jurkofsky at 970-221-6842.

Reporter Jason Pohl covers public safety for the Coloradoan. Follow him on Twitter: @pohl_jason.

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