A 31-year-old Missouri man driving westbound in a Chrysler van with five passengers was killed Saturday afternoon near the Shell station in Bayfield after he swerved into the eastbound lane, hitting an oncoming SUV.
The crash that killed Neil Hendrix of Pacific, Missouri, occurred at 12:26 p.m. near mile marker 105 on U.S. Highway 160, said Colorado State Patrol Trooper Josh Lewis. Hendrix was pronounced dead at the scene.
Hendrix’s van swerved into the eastbound lane hitting an Audi SUV driven by Vivian Ponti, 20, of Bayfield, Lewis said. Ponti was transported to a hospital with minor injuries, Lewis said.
The case remains under investigation, and it is not known what caused Hendrix to swerve into the wrong lane, Lewis said.
The summary report available to Lewis did not name the hospital where Ponti was taken.
Five other passengers in the van, Hendrix’s wife, Roxanne Hendrix, 27, and four children, all from Missouri, also suffered minor injuries, Lewis said.
The children included a 7-year-old boy, a 4-year-old girl, a 2-year-old boy and a 1-year-old girl.
Lewis declined to name the children because they are minors.
Drugs, excessive speed and weather are not considered factors in the crash.
Everyone involved in the crash was wearing seat belts or in child-restraint seats, Lewis said.
parmijo@durangoherald.com
