An 11-year-old Thornton girl died last night after the sport utility vehicle she was riding in was struck by another car that had swerved to avoid a bumper in the roadway on Interstate 25 in Weld County.
Celina Lucero was thrown from the 2007 Ford Expedition after a 2003 Subaru Outback traveling alongside it on northbound I-25 hit the Expedition on Saturday evening.
“They swerved, hit the bumper, went in the other lane and hit the other vehicle,” said Colorado State Patrol Trooper Gilbert Mares.
“We were on our way to my mother-in-law’s house,” said Lee Madrid, 40, Lucero’s stepfather, who was driving the Expedition.
The Weld County coroner pronounced Lucero dead at the scene.
After the collision the Expedition spun counterclockwise and rolled once, coming to rest on its wheels on the edge of the road. The Subaru went off the right side of the road and stopped.
Madrid said the State Patrol assumed that the girl wasn’t wearing a seat belt because she was thrown from the car. But the family isn’t sure of that. “She was obsessive, she always wore a seat belt,” he said.
All five of the others in the blue Expedition wore seat belts.
Madrid, 40, of Thornton sustained minor injuries and was transported to Good Samaritan in Lafayette.
Elizabeth Madrid, 38, of Thornton also sustained minor injuries and was transported to Good Samaritan.
Both Miranda Madrid, 1, and Jalyne Denton, 2, both of Thornton were uninjured but were taken to Good Samaritan. Lisa Campos, 38, unknown address, sustained moderate injuries and was transported to Longmont United.
Matthew Parsons, 22, of Laramie, who was driving the Subaru, wasn’t injured.
His passenger, Louise Parsons, 23, also of Laramie was also uninjured. Both were wearing seat belts.
Neither alcohol, drugs nor speed are suspected of playing a part in the accident, the State Patrol said.
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
