Colorado State Patrol released preliminary details Friday on what led up to last month’s I-25 pileup near Pueblo that left five people dead and many others injured.
The crash occurred Feb. 17, when high winds creating dust storms resulted in extremely low visibility. The report said the brown-out conditions were a contributing factor to the crash.
It began when a car struck a truck that was hauling a trailer and traveling “well below the posted speed limit," according to a Friday report from Colorado State Patrol. The truck, a GMC Sierra, was traveling between 15 and 20 mph in a 75 mph zone, according to the preliminary report. A CSP spokesperson told Denver7 that the agency recommends slowing down when visibility is low.
"It was unfortunate because they were going slow because of low visibility," she said. "So that was the factor that played into it."
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The investigation has not yet determined how fast the car, a Ford Escape, was traveling, the spokesperson said.
After hitting the GMC Sierra, the Ford Escape rotated sideways and “became disabled” in the left lane, according to the report. The GMC Sierra continued north and came to a controlled stop on the right shoulder.
A semi truck, a Kenworth W900, that was also hauling a trailer was slowing down due to the previous crash and low visibility when it was sideswiped by another truck, a Ram 3500, which was hauling a stock trailer that detached from the truck after the collision. The Ram continued onto the shoulder, where it then collided with the GMC Sierra.
The Ford Escape and the Kenworth W900 were then blocking the highway, which led to a series of collisions, according to the report.
Both the driver and the passenger of the Ford Escape were pronounced dead on the scene, as were two people involved in the subsequent pileup. Another person involved in the pileup died at the hospital.
The victims were identified as father and son 90-year-old David L. Kirscht and 64-year-old Scott L. Kirscht, of Walsenburg; husband and wife Thomas Thayer, 65, and Mary Sue Thayer, 72, of Rye; and 66-year-old Karen Ann Marsh, of Pueblo.
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In total, 29 people were transported to the hospital after the crash, CSP said previously. A dozen people sustained injuries, seven of whom were seriously injured, according to Friday’s release.
According to CSP, 29 cars and seven semis were involved in the crash. The incident is still under investigation, and CSP it will provide updates in the future, the report said.
Here is what CDOT recommends if you find yourself in brownout conditions, as previously reported by Denver7:
- Avoid driving into or through a dust storm if possible.
- While driving through dust and smoke make sure to have your headlights on.
- Do not wait until poor visibility makes it difficult to safely pull off the roadway — do it as soon as possible. Completely exit the highway if you can.
- Do not stop in a travel lane; look for a safe place to pull completely off the paved portion of the roadway.
- Stop the vehicle in a position ensuring it is a safe distance from the main roadway and away from other vehicles.
- Turn off all vehicle lights, including your emergency flashers, while parked. You do not want other vehicles approaching from behind to use your lights as a guide, possibly crashing into your parked vehicle.
- Set your emergency brake and take your foot off the brake pedal.
- Stay in the vehicle with your seatbelt buckled and wait for the storm to pass.
- Drivers of high-profile vehicles should be especially aware of changing weather conditions and travel at reduced speeds.
- A driver’s alertness and safe driving ability is still the number one factor in preventing crashes.
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