The man who died July 7 in a two-car crash on U.S. Highway 160 on Mancos Hill has been identified, and the incident remains under investigation, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
Jason B. Nielsen, 38, of Madison, Wisconsin, was killed in the crash, said Trooper Josh Lewis. Two others were seriously injured, Lewis said.
It was the second crash on Mancos Hill in three days.
According to Lewis, Nielsen was driving eastbound in a 2019 Honda SUV about 3:20 p.m. when he was struck by an westbound Kia SUV driven by Tyrone E. Redhouse, of Teec Nos Pos, Arizona.
Redhouse is suspected of making “an unsafe pass” around another vehicle when he collided with the eastbound Honda around mile marker 60 in Montezuma County, Lewis said.
As of Monday, records showed no citations had been issued, Lewis said, and the investigation was ongoing.
The Honda attempted to avoid the crash by going into a ditch on the south side of the highway. The collision with the Kia caused the Honda to roll three-quarter times.
Passengers in both vehicles were transported to Mercy Regional Medical Center with serious injuries, Lewis said.
A 4-year-old child in the Honda also was transported to Mercy, but was uninjured.
All occupants were wearing seat belts, Lewis said.
Emergency crews responded to the incident, and a passerby stopped to help the victims. The crash occurred 2 miles west of the La Plata County line.
The crash was the third incident this month on Mancos Hill.
On July 1, at mile marker 62, a married couple from Roswell, New Mexico, was found dead in a vehicle parked on the shoulder of U.S. 160. The case is under investigation, and one of the deaths is a suspected suicide.
On July 5, at mile marker 62, a New Mexico woman was injured after she crashed 150 feet down an embankment. The rescue was described as “challenging,” and the woman was extricated from the vehicle. She was taken by helicopter to Mercy Regional Medical Center in Durango.
