The driver of a one-vehicle crash that sent five people to the hospital on July 4 has been charged with drunken driving and other offenses by the Colorado State Patrol.
According to an accident report, Samuel Jelly, 24, of Aneth, Utah, was driving a Ford Explorer SUV southbound on County Road 38 (West Fork Road) when he crossed over the center line and went off the opposite side of the road, crashing into boulders and a grove a trees and stopping just yards from the West Dolores River.
Two of the victims were minors. One was seriously injured and was airlifted to San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington, said Colorado State Trooper James Saunders. The other was taken to Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez.
Saunders said that in addition to DUI, Jelly was charged with careless driving causing bodily injury, driving without a valid driving license, child abuse, possessing an open container of an alcoholic beverage, and driving without proper child restraint.
He was returning from a fishing trip, according to the report.
An additional charge of vehicular assault is being considered by the 22nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Saunders said.
Adult passengers Richard Chilly, 49, and Glenn Whitehorse, 52, also were transported to Southwest Memorial Hospital. The vehicle had New Mexico plates.
“It was bad, and then ended up worse,” Saunders said. “We preach all the time to not drink and drive because this is the result. We will enforce the law to the fullest extent that we can.”
Dolores and Rico fire departments responded to the accident, as well as the Montezuma County sheriff, Colorado State Patrol, Southwest Memorial Hospital and San Juan Regional Medical Center.
A section of the road was closed while responders tended to the victims.