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Father, two children in critical condition after Highway 82 crash near Aspen Glen

John Stroud
Glenwood Springs Post-Independent
Police investigate the scene of a rollover crash on Highway 82 near Aspen Glen Sunday morning.
John Stroud / Glenwood Springs Post-Independent

A father and two of his children were taken to Denver hospitals with critical injuries after a single-vehicle rollover accident Sunday morning on Colorado Highway 82 near Aspen Glen, between Carbondale and the Cattle Creek turnoff.

According to Colorado State Patrol Public Information Officer Chris Simpson, a blue 1997 Subaru Outback driven by Fredis Canales, 42, was headed west toward Glenwood Springs about 10:45 a.m. when it went off the right side of the road. Canales apparently overcorrected and flipped the vehicle into the median near mile-marker 9, just down valley from Aspen Glen.

All four of the occupants, including Canales and three children younger than 10, were ejected from the vehicle, Simpson said. It was unclear from the initial investigation whether seat belts were in use, but two child seats were found outside the vehicle, he said.

“If the seats or seat belts were being used, chances are they weren’t being worn properly,” Simpson said, adding the occupants would not likely have been thrown from the vehicle if they were properly secured.

Canales and two of the children were reported to be in critical condition at Denver-area hospitals. Canales and one of the children had to be airlifted, one to Denver Health and the other child to St. Anthony’s, Simpson said.

A third child was transported to Denver by ambulance and was treated at Valley View Hospital for minor injuries, according to CSP reports.

The accident resulted in Highway 82 being closed in both directions.

By early afternoon, eastbound lanes were reopened and westbound traffic was diverted for several hours around the accident scene on the frontage road. The highway was fully reopened to traffic later in the day after the vehicle was removed.