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Hayden resident Doug Seward loved helping people.

He worked as a volunteer at the Moffat County Jail helping methamphetamine addicts kick their habit; he owned a massage therapy business, Lifestyle Therapy; he worked as a physical therapist at the Yampa Valley Medical Center and as a manager at The Smokehouse.

"I saw him in passing," his wife, Angela Seward, jokingly said of her husband's busy schedule. "He loved helping people in whatever way he could. He did massage and he loved knowing that he could help people help themselves."

Doug Seward, 37, died Friday afternoon in a car accident on Colorado Highway 14 in Larimer County's Poudre Canyon.

Gilbert Mares, a Colorado State Patrol public information officer, said Seward was driving his maroon 1996 Chevrolet truck around 2:30 p.m. when he apparently lost control of the truck while entering a sharp left-hand curve, went off the right side of the road and struck a sign. Seward's truck came back on the highway, then went off the left side and rolled before coming to rest on its hood in the Cache la Poudre River.

Mares said speed was a contributing factor to the accident. The speed limit was posted at 35 mph on the stretch of highway and 20 through the curve, he said.

Mares said the weather was clear, but that the roads were icy Friday afternoon.

The Fort Collins Coloradoan reported that Seward's death is the fourth fatal accident in the Poudre Canyon this year, and the second on that particular stretch of road.

Larimer County Deputy Coroner Louie Greek said Seward's death was accidental.

Seward was on his way to Greeley to visit his mother, Angela Seward said.

Lee Cosgrove, an employee at The Smokehouse, said he was extremely saddened to hear of Seward's death.

"He was probably the most even-keeled guy I've ever met," he said. "The restaurant business can get hectic, but when everything was going crazy, Doug would keep his cool. He never lost his sense of humor. Even when nothing was going on, he could get you laughing."

Smokehouse owner Fritz Aurin echoed Cosgrove's sentiment.

"He was a quiet achiever," he said. "He was a very private man, but what we did know, he was amazing. He will sorely be missed."

Despite working several jobs, it seemed Seward was always willing to come in if he was needed, Aurin said.

"Doug would call me at the end of every single one of his shifts and let me know what went right and what went wrong," he said. "Not everyone does that. Doug did it because he was thoughtful."

Seward was featured in the Nov. 3 issue of the Craig Daily Press after he received an award for his work at the Moffat County Jail.

At the time Seward said, "(The inmates) get out of jail and come back to me. They thank me, and say they're doing better."

"That was him," Angela Seward said. "His whole thing was helping people."

A celebration of Doug's life is being planned in Steamboat Springs at a later date, she said.