Traffic accident claims life of passenger

By PRISCILLA WAGGONER, Courier Reporter
Posted 10/17/24

ALAMOSA — A 59-year-old woman from Santa Fe, N.M., was fatally injured in a traffic accident on Friday when the vehicle in which she was riding tried to pass another vehicle as it was turning left. 

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Traffic accident claims life of passenger

Posted

ALAMOSA — A 59-year-old woman from Santa Fe, N.M., was fatally injured in a traffic accident on Friday when the vehicle in which she was riding tried to pass another vehicle as it was turning left. 

On Friday, Oct. 11 at 3:15 in the afternoon, two vehicles were traveling northbound on Highway 285, approaching the intersection with Rio Grande County Road 6N. The first vehicle in the lead, driven by a resident of Monte Vista, slowed down to turn left onto CR 6N. The second vehicle, whose occupants were from Santa Fe, attempted to pass the first vehicle on the left.  

According to Capt. Nathan Lyons with the Colorado State Patrol, the second vehicle hit the rear end of the first vehicle and lost control, rotating and going off the east side of Highway 285 where it then hit a fence, rolled two times and came to rest on its wheels.  

The vehicle in the front came to a controlled stop on the shoulder of the highway. The driver, an unidentified 80-year-old man from Monte Vista, was uninjured in the accident. 

The passenger in the second vehicle was killed and the driver, a 60-year-old man from Santa Fe, sustained serious injuries. Neither name is being released by the Colorado State Patrol. 

Capt. Lyons confirmed that all individuals were wearing their seatbelts. “There was no excessive speed, no impairment in this accident,” he says. While making it clear that he did not interview anyone or investigate the accident, Lyons speculates that the driver in the second vehicle was not anticipating that the driver in front was going to turn. “That happens a lot down here.”