An Oregon man died in a Sept. 28 early morning head-on crash on Highway 160 just east of the Archuleta County line.
The Colorado State Patrol identified him as Kevin Streib, 48, from Gaston, Ore. He was driving west when his car crossed the center line and crashed head-on into a tractor-trailer rig hauling coal. Driver fatigue was suspected.
Upper Pine Fire Chief Bruce Evans reported their units were dispatched at about 1 a.m. on Sept. 28 on report of a semi-truck on fire in the 50000 block of Hwy. 160, east of Beaver Meadows Road.
"Initial units arrived to find a head-on collision between a coal truck and a passenger vehicle," he reported. "The passenger vehicle was off the road and approximately 100 feet down an embankment fully engulfed in flames."
Evans said the driver of the car died of injuries from the fire before Upper Pine responders arrived.
He said the cab of the semi also was engulfed in flames, which spread to the coal the truck was hauling. The two men in the truck escaped with minor injuries, he said, but one was taken to Mercy Medical Center. The State Patrol identified them as driver Michael Jones, 55, from Penrose, and passenger Robert Nacio, 46, from Colorado Springs.
Evans said the semi was hauling coal from the King mine southwest of Durango to Pueblo for use at the steel mill. "Crews had to use heavy equipment to separate the coal to completely extinguish the fire and remove the debris from the roadway," he said. The highway was closed for the night. The Durango Herald reported that traffic was diverted onto Highway 151.
Also responding to help with fire suppression were the Pagosa Springs Fire District, Upper San Juan EMS, and the Archuleta County Sheriff's emergency services. Hazardous materials teams from the State Patrol, Colorado Department of Transportation, and Archuleta County Road and Bridge assisted with clean-up.
