Robert Carradine, 60, of Santa Barbara, Calif., was issued a careless driving ticket for a lane violation, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
“He was northbound on Highway 145 and drove right into the oncoming lane,” said CSP Sgt. James Saunders. “There were no apparent contributing factors.”
Both lanes of traffic near mile marker 14 were closed for more than two hours after Carradine’s 2003 Mercury Marauder collided with a southbound 2014 semi at 2:17 p.m. on Thursday, March 5.
Carradine and his wife, Edith Carradine, were both wearing seatbelts, and speed or alcohol were not a factor in the crash, according to the state patrol.
Both were transported to Southwest Memorial Hospital, according to the CSP.
According to Saunders, both Robert and Edith Carradine were initially transported to Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez with nonlife-threatening injuries before being transferred to Durango. A spokesperson at Mercy Regional Medical Center said Thursday that neither of them were current patients.
“The fact that they were wearing seatbelts is why they are with us today,” Saunders said.
The section of the highway where the crash occurred is a straightaway and was dry at the time.
The driver of the semi-trailer was Richard Clayton of Wisconsin, according to the CSP.
Born in 1954 in Hollywood, Calif., Robert Carradine is the son of actress and artist Sonia Sorel and actor John Carradine.
He is the younger brother of the late David Carradine, known for his role as the warrior monk Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s TV series “Kung Fu.”
Robert Carradine, an actor himself, made his film debut in the 1972 John Wayne film, “Cowboys”.
Acting steadily since then, Carradine’s most recognizable role was as the fraternity president Lewis Skolnick in the 1984 film “Revenge of the Nerds.”