A passenger who got out of a pickup truck after it hit two concrete barriers on Interstate 70 was fatally struck by a car last night near Palisade, authorities say.
Efrain Holguin-Cervantes, 43, of Rifle was killed in the accident, according to the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office.
Enrique Simental, 50, of Española, N.M., was cited for careless driving causing injury and driving without proof of insurance, authorities say.
Simental was driving a 1998 Dodge Ram westbound on the highway 2 miles east of Palisade when he lost control of the pickup. It struck a concrete barrier on the right side of the road, then spun across the highway and hit the concrete barrier in the median, said David Hall, spokesman for the Colorado State Patrol.
When the truck came to a stop, the passenger got out, and that is when a 2008 Kia Rio driven by Laura Ramsey, 36, of Grand Junction slammed into the pickup and the passenger, Hall said.
Ramsey received moderate injuries. Five other vehicles, including a semi-tractor trailer, also hit the two vehicles in a chain-reaction accident.
Westbound I-70 was closed for several hours while crews cleaned up the accidents.
Two people were killed Monday near Limon on I-70 when a dust storm triggered another chain-reaction accident, which ignited a deadly series of car fires.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com
