Driver dies in single-vehicle accident on Highway 82
Vehicle ‘rolled several times’ in crash early Sunday morning
A driver died in a single-vehicle accident on Highway 82 near Woody Creek early Sunday morning, according to Colorado State Patrol Master Trooper Gary Cutler and a press release from Pitkin County Deputy Coroner John Young.
Colorado State Patrol and the Pitkin County Coroner’s Office are investigating the crash, which occurred just before 6 a.m. Sunday, the release states.
The coroner’s office identified the driver as 39-year-old Francisco Javier Olivares of Aspen.
There was only one person in the car at the time of the accident, according to Cutler, who also is a public information officer for the Colorado State Patrol.
The driver was heading upvalley “when his car left the road, hit a water culvert, and then rolled several times,” according to the release. The Pitkin County Regional Dispatch Center received “reports of a car on its roof” at 5:52 a.m.
“(Emergency medical services) crews and police were dispatched and arrived on the scene very quickly, but by all reports Francisco had already succumbed to his injuries,” the release stated.
“The manner and cause of death are still pending a post-mortem investigation as is standard in fatal vehicle crashes,” according to the release. “The Coroner’s Office will release more details as they become available.”
The accident occurred near mile marker 33 on Highway 82, according to Cutler. That highway milepost is almost directly across from the town of Woody Creek, according to an online map from the state of Colorado. It’s about two miles west of the Brush Creek Park and Ride.
