GREELEY, Colo.—Family and friends of victims of the deadliest highway accident in Colorado history will gather Sunday to dedicate a memorial to the 20 children who died.
The memorial, southeast of Greeley, marks the spot where a high-speed train hit a school bus on Dec. 14, 1961, the Rocky Mountain News reported.
Tim Geisick, who helped organize the creation of the memorial, said it will be a relief “that it’s finally there for the kids.” Geisick, who wasn’t born yet, is related to victims on both sides of his family.
The accident occurred just before 8 a.m. when a school bus driven by Duane Harms was picking up children from Auburn. On a cold morning the bus windshield was frosted over. Meanwhile, the Union Pacific’s City of Denver streamliner was running almost two hours behind schedule.
The bus was taking students to Delta and Arlington elementary schools, Meeker Junior High, and Greeley High School.
Harms and 16 children survived when the train slammed into the bus. The dead included five sets of siblings. Harms was acquitted of manslaughter. He moved to California a few months after the trial.
The crossing where the accident occurred was ripped out and the road realigned. An elementary school that opened two years later was named East Memorial in honor of the children.
Geisick said he thought about the accident and how it affected his family, and he was disturbed that no memorial had been built.
Once he began the campaign to build the memorial he got tremendous support.
“Everybody keeps volunteering to do stuff, and I just really appreciate it,” he said.
To reach the location, drive south into Evans, turn east on 37th Street to Weld County Road 45. Turn south on CR 45 to Weld County Road 52. The memorial is located about a quarter-mile east of the intersection.
