Grace Cortez was driving too fast before a van carrying nine inmates to Limon flipped on an icy Interstate 70.
Around 11 a.m. on Dec. 19, a Corrections Corporation of America van was transporting the inmates from its Kit Carson Correctional Facility in Burlington to the state-run prison in Limon when the van flipped. Cortez, 22, and 57-year-old Andres Valdez, an inmate riding in the back of the van, were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
The van, which was pulling a trailer, flipped between Genoa and Limon. Cortez was exceeding the posted speed limit of 75 mph when the van flipped, the state patrol reported.
Cortez was driving in the left lane, passing other vehicles, when she lost control of the van, the patrol said. The van veered off the left side of the road and rolled twice before it landed upright in the grassy median.
The trailer broke loose from the van as it rolled and also landed upright, in the median.
The other eight prisoners and one staff member who survived the crash were taken to Lincoln Community Hospital.
The van was not equipped with seat belts for the inmates. Cortez had a seat belt and was wearing it.
