Woman involved in Wednesday crash on Highway 82 has died; case still under investigation

One of the drivers in a crash that shut down Colorado Highway 82 for several hours Wednesday morning at the CMC turnoff has died, the Colorado State Patrol confirmed Thursday.

The name of the deceased has not yet been released by the Garfield County Coroner’s Office.

Colorado State Patrol reported Wednesday that a 57-year-old woman was taken to Valley View Hospital with life-threatening injuries following the 8 a.m. Wednesday crash.

Details of the incident and any potential citations or criminal charges are still a matter of investigation, CSP spokesman Trooper Gary Cutler said Thursday afternoon.

“Once we finish the investigation, we would make a recommendation on the appropriate charges to the District Attorney’s office, and the DA either accepts or denies them,” Cutler explained. That can often take several days after a traffic incident, he said.

CSP said Wednesday that the crash involved three vehicles, but two, a 2013 Chevy pickup and a 2015 Buick were primarily involved in the rear-end crash at the traffic light located at the intersection of Highway 82 and County Roads 154/114.

The eastbound lanes of Highway 82 remained closed until 12:40 p.m., and the westbound lanes were closed for a short time immediately following the crash, CSP said.

The eastbound lanes were closed at the intersection with County Road 154 (Westbank intersection), about a mile west of the accident, allowing eastbound traffic to detour onto the nearby county roads.

The initial Garfield County emergency alert was issued at 8:37 a.m. Wednesday announcing the highway closure, and a follow-up alert was sent at 12:55 p.m. announcing the highway had reopened.