Firewood was scattered across U.S. Highway 160/491 on Thursday morning after a Nissan Altima and red pickup truck collided.
Colorado State Patrol Sgt. James Saunders said both southbound drivers were cited. The vehicles collided when the Nissan attempted to pass the pickup on the inside lane as the pickup was turning left into a driveway, Saunders said.
The driver of the pickup said he activated his turn signal, but the driver of the Nissan said there was no signal.
The pickup driver was cited for careless driving, and the 19-year-old driver of the Nissan was cited for violating a temporary instruction permit. Saunders said there was a 7-year-old passenger in the Nissan. Because the driver was under the age of 21 and did not have a full driver’s license, the 7-year-old was not permitted to be in the vehicle.
The crash occurred just after 11 a.m. at mile marker 32, about 6.5 miles south of Cortez. The Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office, Cortez Fire Protection District, Colorado State Patrol, Colorado Department of Transportation and a Southwest EMS responded to the scene.
CDOT provided traffic control while Colorado State Patrol investigated the crash. After emergency personnel arrived, a group of men arrived to load the firewood into separate pickup trucks.
Across the street, resident John Durbin said he was drinking a cup of coffee in his home when he heard what sounded like two helmets colliding. He said he knew it was a crash because that happens often on that stretch of highway.
“It’s just getting worse and worse,” he said.
Durbin noted that voters in November shot down two ballot initiatives that would have brought road projects to the highway.
Proposition 109 would have paid for passing lanes and vehicle turnouts near Towaoc, in the area of Thursday’s crash. Proposition 110 would have funded a reconstruction of 8 miles of U.S. 160 near the Four Corners Monument. A fatal crash involving a pickup and a semitrailer occurred 4 miles north of Thursday’s crash just six days ago.
Saunders said the crash on Thursday is not uncommon south of Cortez.
“It’s another reminder to activate your turn signal, make sure your turn signal is working properly,” Saunders said.
He added that law enforcement officers are always willing to conduct a free equipment inspection of a vehicle.
