The vehicles involved were a pickup truck pulling a pop-up camper, a white Jeep and a gold Buick, according to Trooper Alisha Danko, of the state patrol’s public affairs office.
According to state patrol Capt. Adrian Driscoll, the crashes occurred at the Four Corners Rifle and Pistol Club as an eastbound Jeep driven by Joshua Seymour, 32, of Cortez, was making a left turn into the gun range parking lot. The eastbound pickup truck, driven by Kruze Rivas, 20, of Cortez, rear-ended the Jeep and veered into the westbound lane, where it collided with the oncoming gold Buick, driven by Keenan Elliott, 21, of Cortez.
Elliott was transported to a hospital in Grand Junction in critical condition, Driscoll said.
More details are forthcoming, Driscoll said, after the accident report has been filed.
The accident occurred at 3:15 p.m. and closed the highway until about 5 p.m., Driscoll said.
The rush-hour traffic was backed up for miles while officers cleared the scene. About 4 p.m., drivers heading west to Cortez detoured around the crash site by driving toward north Dolores on Colorado Highway 184. About 4:45 p.m., drivers heading east and west on U.S. 160 were being allowed past the crash site in traffic that alternated on a single lane.
The Journal will update this story at The-Journal.com as more information becomes available.