The 47-year-old driver of a tractor-trailer that crashed into five vehicles on U.S. 285 on Tuesday, killing one person and seriously injuring another, was arrested for vehicular homicide and vehicular assault.
Ignacio Cruz Mendoza is in custody at the Jefferson County Jail, the Colorado State Patrol said in a news release Thursday.
Mendoza was hauling a load of steel pipe southbound on U.S. 285 near Aspen Park when he lost control and crashed into five other vehicles at around 5 p.m., state patrol officials said. One person died at the scene and a second person was seriously injured.
Investigators are considering excessive speed as a factor in the crash, CSP Sgt. Patrick Rice said Thursday, but could not provide an estimate of Mendoza’s speed.
He is in custody on a $50,000 bail and set to appear in court Tuesday, according to court records.
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Originally Published: June 13, 2024 at 4:19 p.m.
