DENVER – Authorities say two alcohol containers were found inside a pickup truck involved in a wrong-way crash on Interstate 70 that killed two people Sunday. An exact cause has yet to be determined.
The crash involving four other vehicles was reported at around 11 a.m. in the area east of the overpass on Hogback Road near the I-70 and Morrison parking lot.
Colorado State Patrol trooper Nate Reed says Jeffery Stumpf, 54, of Evergreen, was driving westbound in a Chevy pickup truck when, for an unknown reason, he strayed into the eastbound lanes and struck a Toyota 4Runner, driven by Jodie Stewart, 52, of Idaho Springs.
Stumpf and Stewart were killed in the crash. Stewart’s 17-year-old son, a passenger in the 4Runner, was treated for minor injuries. Six other people in two additional vehicles involved in the crash were taken to the hospital with injuries, the extent of which is unknown.
The investigation into what caused Stumpf to veer off the highway is ongoing. However, trooper Reed said Monday that there were no obvious signs that the driver of the Chevy truck attempted to brake when his vehicle crossed into oncoming traffic.
The crash and subsequent investigation shut down the interstate and snarled traffic for several hours.
