Daily Press News Editor
HOTCHKISS — The four people killed in a car crash Wednesday a few miles west of Hotchkiss were members of the same Utah family, the Colorado State Patrol reported.
|
Advertisement |
She was partly ejected from her vehicle and died at the scene. Three children — Colton Halladay, 8, Anne Halladay, 7, and Nicholas Halladay, 6 — perished with her.
"As far as we can tell, nobody suffered. Everybody died on scene," Baker said of the Hyundai's passengers. "That was one of the few cases where we had an entire family taken out in one of these accidents."
The dump truck's driver, 52-year-old Richard Fischer, of Austin, Colo., was "lucky" to escape injury, Baker said.
Crystal Halladay was eastbound on the highway near milepost 16 when witnesses watched her drift across the centerline for reasons the CSP hadn't been able to determine as of Thursday.
"There was a very short correction maneuver that did not get her back into her lane," Baker said. "There's no real indicating factors as to why she came across the line."
Her Sonata traveled seven feet into the oncoming lane, he said, where it struck Fischer's 1979 Ford dump truck and caused serious damage to the front end.
The Hyundai spun for a half turn counterclockwise off the south side of the road, where the dump truck also crashed. Its trailer rolled for a quarter turn, taking the tractor with it, and ended up blocking both lanes of traffic.
Baker said the trailer's tongue was twisted around its hitch. It took quite some time to right the trailer and the tractor, he said, and as a result, Highway 92 was closed from the time of the accident at 3:30 p.m. until after 8 p.m.
"We were just waving the two or three cars that showed up through the scene," he said. "For all intents and purposes, it was closed."
Thursday's Daily Press brief on the accident erroneously stated the highway had been closed only a short time. The error was the result of conflicting information received.
Neither drugs nor alcohol was suspected in the crash and Baker said excessive speed did not appear to have been a factor. He wasn't certain why Halladay and the children were in Colorado.
Additionally, all occupants in both vehicles were restrained with safety belts and appropriate child restraints. Colton was the Hyundai's front-seat passenger, while Anne was in a booster seat on the rear driver's side and Nicholas was seated in the rear seat on the passenger's side, the CSP reported.
• Be respectful of others, the writer and the subjects in the story.
• Be relevant. Keep your comments on point.
• See the guidelines for TalkAbout. Perhaps your comment is best for that community forum, available from the home page, instead of commenting on a particular story.
Comment posters are responsible for the opinions they express and the accuracy of the information they provide. We urge comment writers to treat this as a public forum where manners matter. We encourage a collegial, non-insulting tone. All readers comments must be approved by our staff before posting to the Web site. Be aware, in accordance with the Communications Decency Act and provisions upheld in judicial appeal, that you are responsible for comments posted on this Web site. Montrose Press is not liable for messages from third parties.
DO NOT POST:
* Potentially libelous statements or damaging innuendo.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults or threats.
* The use of another person's real name to disguise your identity.
* Comments unrelated to the story.
Opinions, advice and all other information expressed in montrosepress.com's reader comments represent the individual's own views and not necessarily those of the Montrose Press. Montrose Press does not endorse and is not responsible for statements, advice or opinions offered by anyone other than authorized Montrose Press spokespersons.
Thank you for your comments!