A 34-year-old Durango woman died in a car crash early Tuesday morning.

The accident occurred about 1:35 a.m. at U.S. Highway 160 and Three Springs Boulevard, the turnoff for Mercy Regional Medical Center, said Colorado State Trooper Nate Reid.

“She was eastbound on Highway 160 when she drifted into the right-hand turn lane and hit a traffic-signal pole,” he said.

May Oles said her husband, Gary, was first on the scene in the middle of the night. He was driving by and saw the accident.

“The car was already on fire, so he pulled over and pulled out his fire extinguisher, but it ran out,” she said.

Oles said the airbag had deployed, and the woman was pinned in the car.

“A few other people had gathered, but there wasn’t anything they could do. It was so hot, they couldn’t get her out of the car,” Oles said.

La Plata County Coroner Jann Smith said authorities think they know who driver is, but she will have to be identified by dental records because of the fire. The records are on the way, she said.

An autopsy will be performed Wednesday, which may or may not help determine why the driver drifted into the wrong lane and hit the pole.

“My husband left broken-hearted,” Oles said. “We have a 25-year-old daughter ourselves, so it made quite an impact on him.”

abutler@durangoherald.com