A woman was killed and a Lafayette man seriously hurt in a five-vehicle, chain-reaction crash on La Veta Pass, authorities say.
Robert D. Greenlee, 75, of Lafayette, was driving a sport utility vehicle that apparently instigated the wreck on U.S. 160 at about 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, the Colorado State Patrol said Thursday.
Patricia Lucero, a 70-year-old from Monte Vista, was pronounced dead at the scene of the Costilla County crash. reports she was an Alamosa County employee.
The State Patrol says Greenlee was driving a 2003 Cadillac Escalade westbound on the highway when he went into oncoming traffic to pass a vehicle and struck Lucero’s 2010 Toyota Camry.
The Camry then hit a tractor-trailer before crossing into the highway’s westbound lanes and striking a 2006 Kia Spectra, authorities say. The Escalade continued westbound and hit an eastbound BMW X5 head-on, causing the BMW to roll onto its side, according to investigators.
The Escalade came to rest on its wheels.
Two others were also hurt in the wreck, though not seriously, investigators say.
The State Patrol says speed is believed to be a contributing factor in the wreck, which remains under investigation. No charges have been filed.
“It takes days to get the full investigation done,” said Trooper Josh Lewis, a State Patrol spokesman.
US 160 La Veta Pass closed b/c crash mm 258-280
— Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) (@ColoradoDOT)
The wreck closed U.S. 160 for several hours.
