Three people were critically injured Sunday morning after a semitrailer and Subaru collided on U.S. Highway 491 north of Cortez, the Colorado State Patrol said.
Heavy, wet snow contributed to at least three crashes in Montezuma and Dolores counties on Sunday morning.
A stretch of U.S. Highway 491 was closed for 2.5 hours after a head-on crash between a semitrailer and a white Subaru at mile marker 28, between County Roads L and M. Colorado State Patrol Cpl. Ivan Alvarado said the crash occurred at 7:38 a.m. Roads were icy.
Alvarado said the driver of the semitrailer was not injured, but all three occupants of the Subaru – one adult male and two adult females – were critically injured. Two passengers were airlifted to St. Mary’s Medical Center in Grand Junction, and one was transported by ambulance.
Two occupants were ejected from the car, Alvarado said.
Clearing up an earlier report, he added that no child was involved.
The Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office provided traffic control for several accidents. During the highway closure from about 8 a.m. to 10:34 a.m., Sheriff Steve Nowlin said semitrailer traffic was rerouted to Colorado Highway 145 and Colorado 184. By 9 a.m., dozens of semitrailers were lined up on the side of the highway, waiting for the scene to clear. Smaller vehicles were redirected to county roads.
“Myself and other deputies are directing and rerouting traffic, assisting CSP,” Nowlin said. “We are all on accident alert in Montezuma County.”
sdolan@the-journal.com