DOLORES – A head-on collision on Colorado Highway 145 just west of Dolores left one person dead and three others hospitalized Monday.
Colorado State Patrol Sgt. Ben Steger said the accident occurred about 1:55 p.m. when a driver in a silver Ford F-150, with Colorado license plates traveling east toward Dolores, swerved across the double-yellow line, striking a silver Chevrolet truck head-on.
The Chevrolet truck, with California license plates, was pulling a large fifth-wheel camping trailer. It swerved to avoid a collision and flew off the road upon impact, eventually coming to rest upside down on the side of a nearby embankment. The fifth-wheel camping trailer, which disconnected from the truck sometime after the collision, came to rest on its side nearby.
Steger said the F-150 briefly left the ground before spinning 180 degrees and coming to a rest.
Shortly after the accident, tires, broken glass, a stereo and miscellaneous car parts covered the road.
A motorcycle driver from San Diego, who asked to be identified only as Bryan, said he was behind the fifth-wheel trailer and noticed a truck heading in the opposite lane of travel veer into the westbound lane.
The eastbound truck hit the westbound truck “and tore down the entire side of the trailer, pushing him over. The car in front of us swerved to the left, I swerved to the right, skidded, and as the (truck and trailer) were falling off the side of the road, a guy flew out in front of me onto the road. I dodged him, came to a stop and ran back to help.”
Although the names of those involved in the accident had yet to be released Monday afternoon, Steger confirmed that the driver of the F-150 was killed, and the passenger in the F-150 was airlifted to an undisclosed hospital.
Both people in the Chevrolet truck were transported to Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez, and although Steger was unable to confirm their condition, he said he had heard both were in stable condition.
At least four agencies arrived at the scene, including the Colorado State Patrol, the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office, the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Dolores Fire Department.
imaclaren@cortezjournal.com
