Five male teenagers were hospitalized late Friday night after the car they were in rolled end over end and ejected one of the passengers on eastbound U.S. 36.
Tyler Hatch, 18, and Zach ary Gathe, 19, both of Westminster, were taken by ambulance to a local hospital with injuries after the 10:55 p.m. crash, said Trevor Materasso, spokesman for the Westminster Police Department.
Paul Tialdo, 18, of Westminster; and Westley and Kalen Colby, both 18 and from Arvada, also were taken to a hospital and treated for minor injuries.
Hatch was cited for careless driving resulting in injury, drunken driving and failure to provide proof of insurance.
The extent of the injuries of the five teens who were in the ’90s Ford Crown Victoria are not known, Materasso said.
“I don’t think you could be more fortunate than to have none of the five with permanent, long-term injuries,” he said. “It was kind of miraculous.”
Hatch did not appear to be speeding as he drove from a party with a group of other cars. He lost control of the car on eastbound U.S. 36 between Church Ranch Boulevard and Sheridan Boulevard.
Witnesses said that after the car went off the right side of the highway, it rolled three or four times end-over-end, Materasso said.
The car landed on its roof. Westminster firefighters used special equipment to extract the driver, who was trapped, from the car, Materasso said.
Gathe was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the car, he said. It is very rare that someone thrown from a car survives, he said.
“He definitely is an exception to the rule,” Materasso said.
Detectives will investigate who provided the underage men with alcohol, and charges could follow, Materasso said.
The accident is being investigated by the Westminster Police Major Accident Reconstruction Team.
After the accident, the eastbound lanes of the highway were shut down for several hours, he said.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com
