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1 dead, 4 injured after wrong-way driver crashes into vehicle on I-70 in Wheat Ridge

Police suspect alcohol factor in crash
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Posted at 11:30 AM, Nov 26, 2022
and last updated 2022-11-28 17:49:11-05

WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — One person is dead and four people were seriously injured in a crash police said was caused by a wrong-way driver on Interstate 70 in Wheat Ridge.

The crash happened in the eastbound lanes near Kipling around midnight Friday into Saturday morning, according to the Wheat Ridge Police Department. They said officers arrived to a "chaotic scene."

According to police, a 29-year-old man in a black truck, suspected of being drunk, was traveling in the wrong direction on the eastbound lanes when he struck an eastbound vehicle with four people inside.

The driver of the eastbound vehicle was killed. He was identified as a 50-year-old by the Wheat Ridge Police Department. The three other passengers sustained serious bodily injuries and were transported to the hospital. Their conditions are not known.

All four people in the victim's vehicle are family members and all adults, police said.

The driver of the black truck was also seriously injured and transported to the hospital. Police suspect the at-fault driver was under the influence of alcohol, the department said in a news release.

Charges are pending the outcome of an investigation.

The interstate was closed in both directions for several hours.

Editor's note on Nov. 28 at 3:45 p.m.: This story has been updated with the age of the driver who was killed in this crash.