A 34-year-old Rocky Ford man was killed and a state transportation worker was injured in a crash involving a dump truck on U.S. 50 in Otero County, according to Colorado State Patrol officials.
Troopers responded to eastbound U.S. 50 just east of Rocky Ford around 10:20 a.m. Wednesday for a crash between a Colorado Department of Transportation dump truck and a Saturn.
The Saturn’s driver, who was the only person in that vehicle, died at the scene. The CDOT driver, a 39-year-old La Junta man, was taken to a hospital for minor injuries, state patrol officials said in a news release Wednesday.
Investigators found the Saturn was headed east on U.S. 50 in the right lane and made a sudden lane change, colliding with rear of the CDOT truck, an International 6×4 Workstar 7600, in the left lane. A third vehicle hit some debris from the initial crash but the driver and passenger were not injured.
The area was an active CDOT work zone at the time of the crash, according to the state patrol.
U.S. 50 was closed in both directions between the business loop and County Road 20.75, but had reopened by 1:55 p.m.
The name of the driver who died will be released by the Otero County Coroner.
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Originally Published: July 24, 2024 at 1:56 p.m.
