Local
19-year-old dies after pickup strikes patrol car and semitrailer near Byers
A 19-year-old passenger was killed and an 18-year-old driver seriously hurt in a three-vehicle crash on westbound I-70 near Byers early Wednesday. The Colorado State Patrol’s vehicular crimes unit is investigating.
A 19-year-old man died after the pickup he was riding in struck a Colorado State Patrol vehicle and a semitrailer on westbound Interstate 70 near Byers early Wednesday, authorities said. The 18-year-old driver was seriously injured.
The crash happened at about 6:45 a.m. in Arapahoe County, while a trooper was responding to an earlier, single-vehicle semitruck crash. The patrol vehicle was partly blocking the left lane as tow trucks worked to remove the semitruck from the center median, according to the state patrol.
Investigators said the driver of a Ford F-150 lost control and hit the patrol vehicle, then continued into the median, where the pickup struck a guardrail and the rear driver’s side of the semitruck.
The passenger suffered life-threatening injuries and later died at a hospital. The driver was also taken to a hospital with serious injuries. The trooper reported no injuries but went to a hospital as a precaution, the patrol said.
The Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office is expected to release the passenger’s name. The state patrol’s vehicular crimes unit is investigating.