Two people are dead after a head-on collision in Montezuma County on Saturday night on County Road G, also known as McElmo Canyon Road. Authorities said they believe speed and alcohol were contributing factors.
Emergency crews responded about 5:30 p.m. Saturday after the crash was reported by witnesses who arrived on the scene.
A 2006 Chrysler Pacifica was westbound on Road G, and a 2012 Nissan Sentra was going east. The Pacifica, carrying three occupants and driven by Janeen Black, 26, of Ignacio, lost control and spun into the oncoming Sentra, also carrying three occupants and driven by Yvonne Padilla, 40, of Cortez, according to a report by the Colorado State Patrol.
Padilla and passenger Gerald Padilla, 36, of Cortez, were pronounced dead at the scene. The third passenger, a 15-year-old woman, was transported to Southwest Memorial with serious injuries. Black was transported to Southwest Memorial Hospital, said State Trooper Neil Reid.
Black’s passengers, a 32-year-old woman from Arizona and a 28-year-old man from Utah, were treated and released at Southwest Memorial, said Reid.
Authorities are investigating, and charges are pending against Black, said Reid.
Sgt. Rob Madden of the State Patrol said the accident occurred in a remote location, and it may have been on Ute Mountain Ute tribal land.
“It (was) a ways out there,” he said Saturday night.
Madden said when authorities arrived, one vehicle was already largely incinerated.
In Durango and La Plata County on Saturday night, authorities were busy responding to at least five minor accidents, two of those in northern parts of the county.
One accident involved one three cars near Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort that blocked traffic for a short time as road conditions worsened on U.S. Highway 550.
In a separate incident, a vehicle rolled over. No injuries were reported.
Near Bondad Hill, south of Durango, hazardous-material crews were called to a vehicle that reportedly was driven into a pond.
“When the tow got there, there was nobody on scene, and it turned into a haz-mat incident, where all of the vehicle fluids went into the pond,” Madden said.
In Archuleta County, Yellow Jacket Pass was closed for a short time after a single-vehicle incident involving a Ford Bronco. No injuries were reported.
Saturday night’s weather affected visibility and created slick driving conditions in the region, bringing everything from rain to sleet and snow.
“It’s the first snowfall of the year,” said Durango Police Department Sgt. R. Brammer. Durango officers responded to incidents at 15th Street and Main Avenue, College Drive and Camino del Rio and on East Eighth Avenue, all within an hour of each other.
Cortez Journal reporter Jessica Gonzalez contributed to this story.
