About 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 26, two semitrailers, a Sheriff’s Office vehicle and a passenger car collided on U.S. Highway 491 in Cortez.
“There were actually three separate crashes,” said Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin.
The crashes were at milepost 29.5, where Road M meets the highway.
Nowlin said the deputy was westbound on Road M and failed to yield as he pulled out onto the highway. A northbound semitrailer collided with the patrol vehicle.
“The patrol vehicle was totaled,” he said, and the deputy’s collarbone broke.
Shortly after, a Buick passenger car headed northbound on U.S. Highway 491 crashed into the semitrailer, as it wasn’t lit up. That driver broke a leg, said Nowlin.
The third and final crash involved another semitrailer, which dodged the crashed Buick but ran into the back of the unlit trailer.
Though the deputy and other driver sustained “severe injuries,” they were “not life-threatening.” Both parties were treated and released from the hospital, said Colorado State Patrol Sgt. Patrick Rice.
The highway was closed until 1:34 a.m. Thursday, said Rice.
About 150 gallons of diesel leaked onto the road, though it is unclear which vehicle leaked it, said Rice.
