Craig Daily Press / State patrol releases names of crash victims

Archive for Wednesday, August 1, 2012

August 1, 2012

The Colorado State Patrol released the names of the three victims in Saturday’s fatal two-vehicle crash west of Craig.

The CSP officials reported that 35-year-old Raul Torres-Rodriguez, of Fort Collins, was the driver of an Audi A4 carrying 22-year-old Christopher Karschner, of Rangely, and 19-year-old Luis Terrones-Ortega, of Greeley, as passengers.

The vehicle, traveling west on U.S. Highway 40, reportedly veered into the eastbound lane and collided head-on with a Freightliner tractor-trailer driven by Rickie Jenkins, 53, of Casper, Wyo., according to a CSP news release.

Moffat County Coroner Kirk McKey said the three occupants of the Audi all died of blunt force trauma as result of the collision.

CSP officials said Torres-Rodriguez and Karschner, who was seated next to the driver, were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash. Terrones-Ortega, seated in back, reportedly wasn’t.

Though his truck spilled diesel fuel onto the highway and caught fire, Jenkins, who reportedly was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, was first able to escape from the truck’s cab.

He was treated for moderate injuries at The Memorial Hospital in Craig and later released.

There are no pending citations resulting from the accident, according Colorado State Police officials.

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