The Durango Police Department is investigating a hit-and-run that occurred late Monday night or early Tuesday and left one of the brick banisters in front of the Durango School District 9-R Administration Building in rubble.

Deputy Police Chief Brice Current said the damage was first reported by an officer around 8 a.m. Tuesday. Tire tracks were visible on the grass, but little else remained with which to identify the driver responsible.

Current said the department will examine nearby security cameras to try to identify the vehicle responsible. Karla Sluis, spokeswoman for District 9-R, said it is unlikely the district’s cameras captured anything.

The 106-year old building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

Although currently occupied by the school district, the building is owned by the Durango Fire Protection District. Pending approval from the DFPD board of directors and Durango City Council, DFPD is likely to swap the building with the city in exchange for Durango River City Hall and $3,586,275.

According to Fire Chief Hal Doughty, both the fire district and the school district have insurance policies on the building.

“We'll try to participate with the police department and figure out who’s responsible for it and make their insurance pay for it,” Doughty said.

Even if cameras did not capture the incident itself, Doughty was hopeful that cameras may have picked up a car entering the neighborhood without damage and leaving with significant bumper damage.

Sluis confirmed the school district would file an insurance claim for the damage.

When asked if the city would try to bargain for a discount on the property with DFPD, spokesman Tom Sluis said, “I highly doubt the fire district or 9-R is going to leave a bunch of bricks in a pile for the foreseeable future while negotiations for the properties continue.”

rschafir@durangoherald.com