Two teenagers were killed and three others were seriously injured early Monday when a stolen sport utility vehicle they were in crashed during a high-speed chase with a Colorado state trooper in Pueblo that lasted only a minute.
Chantel Ortiz, 16, and Cameron Montoya, 18, both of Pueblo, were killed, said Trooper Nate Reid of the Colorado State Patrol.
The State Patrol received a call from Pueblo police at 1:49 a.m. reporting that a white 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander was driving at a high rate of speed north on Pueblo Boulevard in Pueblo County.
A trooper spotted the SUV near East Spaulding Avenue and attempted to stop it by turning on his lights and siren, but the driver did not stop, Reid said in a news release.
The SUV ran two red lights and raced north on Wildhorse Road. At 1:50 a.m., the vehicle swerved on a left-hand curve. The driver lost control, and the Mitsubishi rolled.
Three of the five occupants were ejected. The two others were inside the vehicle as it came to rest on its side.
Ortiz was pronounced dead at the scene. Montoya was taken to the hospital, where he died.
Two teens who were ejected and one teen who was in the SUV were transported to Parkview Medical Center in Pueblo with serious injuries.
The injured teens include a 15-year-old girl and two 14-year-old girls.
After the crash, troopers learned that the vehicle had been stolen in Colorado Springs, Reid said in the news release. A handgun was found inside the vehicle.
The Pueblo County Critical Incident Team is investigating the accident, he said.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or
