A semitractor-trailer crash the morning of Sunday, Oct. 12, killed three people and closed Interstate 70 between Exit 216 at Loveland Pass and Exit 205 at Silverthorne for about 12 hours.

The Colorado State Patrol, which responded to the crash at mile marker 208 around 5:42 a.m. Sunday, stated in a news release that night that the three victims were the driver, a 37-year-old female from Deming, New Mexico, and two passengers, a 39-year-old male also from Deming and a 9-year-old female from Jacksonville, Florida. All occupants were pronounced dead on scene. 

Summit County Coroner Amber Flenniken confirmed three people died in the crash. She said her office has “presumed identities” for the decedents, but officials are waiting for scientific positive identifications before releasing their names or where they were from.

The State Patrol releasing ages and residences of the decedents is based on “presumed identity,” Flenniken said, which is an assumption based on circumstantial evidence. She said the occupants did include one child, and all three were presumed to be part of the same family.

Initial reports indicated that the semitractor-trailer went off the right side of the road, crashed and caught on fire. State Patrol provided more detail in the Sunday night news release, stating the semi veered off the road to the right while approaching a curve to the right. It came back onto the road, struck the center concrete barrier and rolled across the road.

The semi became “fully engulfed” in flames as it rolled across the road, the release stated, and it blocked all lanes of travel when it came to a stop.

The highway reopened around 6 p.m. Sunday. State Patrol Trooper Gabriel Moltrer said the closure lasted around 12 hours because the agency conducts “extensive” and “thorough” investigations into fatal crashes.

The investigation will look into factors that could have contributed to the crash, Moltrer said, and could take weeks if not months to complete.

Anyone who may have witnessed the crash and has not spoken to investigators should contact the Colorado State Patrol Dispatch at 970-249-4392, reference VC250372 and be prepared to provide their name and contact information so investigators can reach them.