One person died Thursday night on U.S. Highway 160/491 south of Cortez after a semitrailer and pickup truck collided on the McElmo Creek bridge, law enforcement officers said.
According to a Colorado State Patrol press release, the driver of a 1969 Ford pickup, identified as Cortez resident Alfonso Rascon, 72, died after being transported to Southwest Memorial Hospital with critical injuries.
The driver was treated at the scene before transport, said Jay Balfour, chief of the Cortez Fire Protection District.
According to emergency scanner traffic, the crash occurred about 5:45 p.m. The pickup driver was identified as the victim about 9 p.m.
CSP is still investigating the crash as of 8 a.m. Friday, but the initial investigation concluded that the pickup was headed northbound toward Cortez when it drove into the oncoming lane and collided with a semitrailer that was being pulled by a white 2013 Kensworth semitrailer.
The CSP press release states the pickup rotated and collided with a guardrail on the west side of the road as a tire detached from the semi and struck a blue 2017 Subaru Impreza in the northbound lane. The drivers of the semi and Subaru were not injured.
Drugs, alcohol and excessive speed are not considered factors, according to CSP.
A large wide-load truck hauling a house or shed was parked right in front of the crashed pickup in the southbound lane. CSP has not stated if that vehicle was involved.
Both lanes of the highway were still closed at 10:30 p.m. Cortez police officers were turning back drivers at the “Y” junction at U.S. 160 and 491 in Cortez, and northbound drivers near the scene were being diverted eastbound on County Road G. According to Lisa Schwantes, of the Colorado Department of Transportation, the highway reopened about 10:55 p.m.
Balfour told The Journal that the section of highway at the bridge was narrow and he hoped that the crash could prompt some changes there.
Colorado State Patrol, Cortez Fire Protection District, Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office and Southwest Health System EMS, responded to the scene at 5:58 p.m.
sdolan@the-journal.com
