One person was killed and at least three were injured in a crash on U.S. Highway 160 southwest of Towaoc just after 4 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Montezuma County coroner.
The Colorado State Patrol, Ute Mountain Ute Fire Department and other emergency services were called out to the crash site at 4:04 p.m., said to CSP public information officer Josh Lewis. Montezuma County Coroner George Deavers said Bureau of Indian Affairs officials received the call at 3:57 p.m. Early radio communications by emergency personnel indicated that the crash had caused a possible fatality.
Deavers confirmed the crash resulted in one fatality and at least three other injuries. One person was airlifted to a Denver hospital. He said the crash appeared to be a head-on collision between a pickup and a vehicle pulling a trailer, but he would not speculate on what caused the collision. Investigators did not suspect alcohol or speed as a factor in the crash, he said.
The BIA took over the investigation after 4:30 p.m., and a Ute ambulance left the scene with its emergency lights on. Deavers said ambulances from Southwest Health System and Towaoc responded to the scene.
At 5:14 p.m., eastbound and westbound lanes of U.S. 160 were closed for about a mile near the crash site, which was about 3 miles east of Highway 41 and 11 miles west of the U.S. 491 junction.
Deavers would not identify the people involved in the crash, saying that not all family members of the person who died have been informed.
As of 9:40 a.m. Wednesday, BIA officials had not yet responded to requests for verification on the details of the crash.
