Timothy Trenshaw Killed, Three Injured in Truck Accident on CO-69 near Westcliffe
UPDATE (July 7, 2022): The driver killed in this accident has been identified as Timothy Trenshaw.
Westcliffe, CO — July 2, 2022, a 60-year-old man was killed and three people were injured in a crash involving a semi-truck on State Route 69 near Westcliffe.
According to reports the incident happened around 5:20 p.mm. on Route 69 near mile marker 50, just south of town. Preliminary investigation suggests a semi-truck was headed north when it entered a curve and the driver failed to maintain his lane.
The truck crossed into the southbound lane and overturned, landing on top of an oncoming Lincoln Navigator. It then crashed head-on with a Toyota Tacoma pickup.
The Lincoln driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The Tacoma driver was taken to a hospital for treatment of moderate injuries; his passenger and the semi-truck driver received minor injuries.
The investigation continues, but impairment is not suspected as a factor.
No further information is currently available.
Commentary on Westcliffe Truck Accident on CO-69
Reports don't have all the facts yet about how this terrible accident occurred, but if they have the preliminary facts straight it sounds a lot like the truck overturned while taking a curve at too high a speed. Police mentioned looking into speed as a possible factor, so that may be their working theory as well.
Of course theories aren't facts, and I'm not encouraging anyone to jump to conclusions before investigators can learn more. It's possible something out of the truck driver's control like a brake failure or a wet patch of road made the big rig overturn, and no fingers should be pointed before there's more information available.
Of course, even if further analysis confirmed the crash was largely due to momentary carelessness on the truck driver's part that doesn't mean his employer is required to agree. Trucking companies can argue with police findings until they're blue in the face, which they tend to do if they might have to help someone injured by their employee's negligence.
That's why it's important to investigate carefully and use all available sources of information--forensic accident reconstruction data, electronic readouts from the vehicles involved, dashcam footage from the truck, the driver's phone usage records, truck maintenance logs, any witness statements, and many others--to get clear and indisputable evidence of exactly what occurred. Rounding all that up is often beyond the means or know-how of the victims themselves, which is why I often tell people who call the firm to get independent investigators to help them assemble the proof they need. Armed with what those experts turn up, many people are able to hold the right parties accountable for the damage done in a crash like the one in Colorado.
