RIFLE, CO — Two teenagers were killed early Sunday in a three-vehicle crash on westbound Interstate 70 east of Rifle that involved a wrong-way Subaru, a GMC Yukon and a semi-truck hauling a trailer.
Colorado State Patrol said the collision happened around 2:45 a.m. in Garfield County. The crash shut down the westbound lanes for several hours before traffic reopened later in the morning.
State patrol says Subaru was traveling the wrong way
Investigators said the driver of a blue 2022 Subaru was a 17-year-old male who was driving the wrong way in the left westbound lane of I-70.
At the same time, a 18-year-old female was driving a gray 2004 GMC Yukon in the left westbound lane and trying to pass a semi. Colorado State Patrol said the semi was a 2026 orange Peterbilt hauling a trailer and was driven by a 35-year-old man.
Head-on impact pushed the Yukon into the trailer
According to CSP, the Subaru hit the GMC Yukon head-on. That impact then sent the Yukon into the semi’s trailer.
Both the Subaru driver and the Yukon driver were pronounced dead at the scene. The semi driver was not hurt, troopers said.
Victim names will come after next-of-kin notifications
The Garfield County Coroner’s Office will release the names of the people who died after family members are notified. For now, officials have not publicly identified either teenager.
The crash added another deadly incident to one of the state’s busiest mountain corridors, where I-70 traffic often mixes local travel, long-haul trucks and late-night drivers. In this case, the investigation points to a wrong-way entry in the westbound lanes.
Westbound lanes reopened at 7:59 a.m.
The westbound side of I-70 was closed after the crash as emergency crews worked the scene and investigators examined what happened. Colorado State Patrol said the roadway reopened around 7:59 a.m.
That closure stretched through the early-morning commute window for drivers heading through Garfield County. Officials did not say how long the investigation is expected to continue, but the Vehicular Crimes Unit is now handling the case.
Vehicular Crimes Unit takes over the investigation
Colorado State Patrol’s Vehicular Crimes Unit is investigating the crash. Troopers have not released any additional findings beyond the initial reconstruction of how the three vehicles collided.
What remains clear, according to CSP, is that the sequence began with the Subaru going the wrong direction in the westbound lanes. The resulting head-on impact caused a chain reaction that left two young drivers dead and a semi driver uninjured.
Local news that matters, from Dulaney Griffin.
