The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Medical event may have caused driver to go out of control
By Kendra Walker
On Friday, September 26, the Mt. Crested Butte Police Department was called to the area of Gothic Road and Castle Road in Mt. Crested Butte at approximately 1:50 p.m. for a two-vehicle accident with injuries. A passenger vehicle going southbound on Gothic crashed into a semi-truck going northbound up the hill.
The case is still under investigation, but Mt. CB police chief Nate Stepanek shared that there were three people in the passenger vehicle, a male driver, a female and a young child. Based on witness accounts, Stepanek said the driver had some type of medical event and the vehicle started going all over the road and ran over pedestrian signs in the middle of the road.
“The male driver of the semi stopped his vehicle when he saw the oncoming vehicle out of control, which ended up crashing into his semi near the fuel tanks causing quite a bit of damage,” said Stepanek.
According to Stepanek, officers on the scene believed the semi-truck driver intentionally stopped his vehicle to keep the out-of-control passenger vehicle from heading off the road into the steep ditch.
Stepanek said the male driver of the passenger vehicle suffered minor injuries, hitting his head, and he and the other two passengers spent the night at Gunnison Valley Hospital. Their vehicle was registered in the Front Range.
Traffic was stopped in both directions while officers worked to clear the scene. Stepanek said that traffic cleared at about 3:30 p.m. Mountain Express managing director Jeremy Herzog informed the Crested Butte News that the town shuttle only lost one lap and then the one-way traffic allowed the bus to stay on schedule.
