The driver of a gold Cadillac who crashed into a light pole at the intersection of Colorado Boulevard and Mississippi Avenue yesterday is believed to be a 22-year-old man who works in the Denver area, police said today.

The medical examiner's office said it expected to release the man's identity this afternoon.

The man was northbound on Colorado Boulevard "at a very high rate speed," police spokesman Sonny Jackson said today.

"As he entered the intersection of Colorado Boulevard and Mississippi Avenue, he ran the red light," Jackson said.

A sedan was turning onto eastbound Mississippi when the Cadillac ran the light, Jackson said.

"That car struck him, causing him to lose control of his car and, we believe, to go airborne and collide into a light pole there in the corner," Jackson said.

The top of the Cadillac collapsed onto the driver, who was pronounced dead at the scene, Jackson said.

The people in the other car — a man and his two children — were not injured, he said.

The accident closed the northbound lanes of Colorado Boulevard for several hours yesterday.