Charges may be filed in CME van wreck

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BY NICOLE FORMOSA
summit daily news
Summit County, CO Colorado
March 26, 2007

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CLEAR CREEK COUNTY - The Colorado State Patrol is "seriously considering" recommending felony charges be filed against the driver of a Colorado Mountain Express van that crashed into a parked snowplow Sunday morning, sending the driver and all eight passengers to the hospital, CSP Capt. Ron Prater said Monday afternoon.

"We take this very seriously and we are looking at the factors that led up to this tragedy," said Prater, whose Troop 6B covers Summit and Clear Creek counties, adding that it was "very troubling" that visitors who had come to the mountains to ski or snowboard didn't make it home safely from their vacation.

The ski shuttle was on the way from Vail to Denver International Airport around 8 a.m. Sunday morning when the driver, Sebastian Lopez, 28, collided with a Colorado Department of Transportation snowplow parked on a portion of the interstate that had been closed so crews could clean up a prior accident.

The State Patrol is investigating all possible causes for the wreck, including weather, visibility and statements made by passengers pertaining to the driver, Prater said.

Prater said two passengers remained in critical condition on Monday and at least one other person needed surgery for injuries sustained in the crash.

Colorado Mountain Express CEO Jay Ufer said Lopez has been driving for the company for multiple seasons. He is still employed by CME, but is working in an administrative off-road position. Lopez had completed all of CME's training requirements, including classroom sessions, orienteering, defensive driving, various department of transportation requirements and airport training, Ufer said.

"We take our safety record very seriously. We take our responsibility of providing safe, reliable access to the communities we serve very seriously," Ufer said.

Ufer said CME is conducting its own investigation into the accident, looking at factors such as the conditions Lopez encountered, how the CDOT plow was parked and the safest conditions for road closures. The company will take appropriate personnel action based on the outcome of the investigation, he said.

The snowplow involved in the crash was parked across two eastbound lanes of traffic to provide a barrier for workers mopping up a fuel spill caused when a semi-truck jackknifed about four hours earlier, said Colorado Department of Transportation spokesperson Mindy Crane.

"It was a safety precaution to protect the workers from traffic," Crane said.

CDOT warned drivers of the upcoming accident and asked them to slow down via messages on numerous electronic boards starting on the approach to the Eisenhower Tunnel on the Summit County side, Crane said.

Police officers and CDOT personnel were standing at the accident scene directing traffic from the interstate to the exit 218 off-ramp for Herman Gulch. The detour led vehicles through the off-ramp, to the on-ramp and back onto the interstate.

Lopez apparently missed the detour route and crashed into the plow. The van was traveling about 60 miles per hour, according to the State Patrol.

Crane said it's not unusual for CDOT to use its large vehicles as road barriers, particularly in an emergency situation.

"Had the driver gone through and the (plow) truck wasn't there, more than likely it would have hit several patrol cars or the (semi) truck or people working there," Crane said.

Capt. Prater said investigators would likely decide by the end of the week whether to recommend charges be filed against the driver, and what any possible charges should be, but that the final decision is up to the district attorney.

Ufer said Colorado Mountain Express' director of safety is monitoring the conditions of the four passengers who remain hospitalized.

The transportation company serves 330,000 travelers per year and its drivers log 9.3 million miles annually.

"Unfortunately, if you're going to operate that many miles, accidents will occur," Ufer said. "We need to remain committed and vigilant to that safe reliable access, and that's where CME is right now."





People involved in the accident

Serious injuries:

Sherstin Truitt, 30, of Chapel Hill, N.C., critical condition

James Griggs, 36, of Nashville, Tenn., critical condition

Elizabeth Clark, 45, of Rye, N.Y., fair condition

(All are patients at St. Anthony Central Hospital in Denver)



Moderate injuries:

Genevieve Schildroth, 29, of New York, N.Y.

Maria Moreno, 21, of Lima, Peru

Samantha Clark, 12, of Rye, N.Y.

Thomas Gruber, 30, of Glendale, N.Y.

Jason Laforte, 31, of Ozone Park, N.Y.

Braden Weber, 30, of Georgetown, Colo.

Driver of CME: Sebastian Lopez, 28

Source: Colorado State Patrol and Spokeswoman Bev Lilly of St. Anthony Central Hospital in Denver



Nicole Formosa can be reached at (970) 668-4629, or at nformosa@summitdaily.com.