DENVER – Colorado State Patrol responded to six fatal crashes across the state overnight Saturday and into Sunday morning, officials said.
Col. Matthew Packard, chief of the state patrol, tweeted Sunday morning about the string of crashes – all of which happened over about 12 hours and involved either speed or alcohol as suspected factors.
"Safety on our roadways is everybody's responsibility," Packard tweeted, "we must be better!"
In roughly 12 hours, beginning just after 9PM last night, Troopers have investigated 6 fatal crashes. 6 families, 6 communities that are forever and permanently changed by the loss of a life that mattered. Safety on our roadways is everybody’s responsibility, we must be better!
— Colonel Matthew Packard (@ColPackard) November 10, 2019
The first crash happened about 9:20 p.m. in Delta County in western Colorado, near E Road and 2195 Road. An eastbound vehicle traveling at a high speed went airborne over a ridge and crashed into a ditch and rolled over. An 18-year-old man in the backseat was killed and the driver and another passenger were seriously injured.
A crash in Weld County was reported about 10:15 p.m., near County Roads 18 and 37. A vehicle went off the left side of the road and crashed, ejecting and killing the driver. Speed was the suspected cause, officials said.
Another crash in Weld County was reported about 1:15 a.m., near Colorado 392 and County Road 68. A vehicle struck a speed limit sign, went off the left side of the road and turn over on the driver's side. The driver was partially ejected and killed. Speed and alcohol were the suspected causes of the crash.
About 2:20 a.m., a vehicle on Interstate 25 near Erie struck and killed a person who was standing in the roadway.
Later Sunday morning, a vehicle near Cortez, in southwest Colorado, struck a semi-truck head-on about 7:30 a.m., killing the driver of the vehicle. Alcohol was suspected in the crash.
Two hours later, in Larimer County, a vehicle on County Road 54G swerved into the westbound lane and struck a handicap-accessible van, killing a man who was in a wheelchair in the van. Alcohol was suspected in the crash, which happened near Task Hill Road.
There was also at least one other fatal crash early Sunday, in Lakewood, where police said a 23-year-old man died after running a red light and crashing into another vehicle.