SAGUACHE COUNTY — Three individuals from the Denver area were seriously injured Friday evening when their vehicle veered off Highway 285 and landed in a field just past the La Garita turnoff.
Colorado State Patrol officer Trevor Moden and Center Ambulance responded to the crash. Several travelers also stopped to see if they could assist the victims.
According to Moden, the accident occurred at about 5:17 p.m. Witnesses reported seeing the car wobble violently then careen off the road. The driver, Kelsey Townsend, 27, of Lakewood, and a 21-year-old male passenger from Denver seated behind her in the Toyota Highlander, were not wearing seatbelts and were ejected from the vehicle.
A third passenger, a 21-year-old female from Denmark, was wearing a seatbelt and was able to climb unassisted from the mangled vehicle. She was airlifted to Parkview Medical Center in Pueblo. The male passenger was ejected from the driver’s side back window and appeared to be the most seriously injured.
Townsend and the male passenger were airlifted to St. Anthony Central in Denver with serious injuries.
Trooper Moden said no one fell asleep at the wheel and neither drugs nor alcohol are suspected as causing the crash. The accident may have been due to mechanical failure, Moden said, and the investigation as to cause is ongoing.