Colorado

Victims of major Highway 285 crash in Colorado say cars are still being held, express frustration with communication about impound fees

Published

11 months ago

April 11, 2025

Victims of major Highway 285 crash in Colorado say cars are still being held, express frustration with communication about impound fees

Nearly a year a horrific deadly crash on Highway 285 near Conifer, some surviving victims say their vehicles are still being held in Colorado impound lots.

In June, a semi truck driver slammed into traffic, forcing him to roll his truck on his side and dump a load of pipe and iron on top of five other vehicles. Those pipes fell on top of and killed one driver.

Photos from the aftermath of the crash show twisted and mangled metal that was at one time a Subaru that belonged to Annette Martin.

Annette Martin

“We had decided we were going to have pizza for dinner and so I was just hopping in the car to run a quick errand,” Martin said.

Nancy Flynn was also a victim in the crash. Her white Infinity was sideswiped. On the back window is a sticker that says “PRAY FOR ME I DRIVE 285.” She believes that call for prayers was answered.

“It was a guardian angel watching over me or else I wouldn’t have survived,” Flynn said.

Both women are victims of Ignacio Cruz-Mendoza. He was an undocumented driver with no valid commercial driver’s license who caused unimaginable pain in their lives.

“It’s something that I could never unsee and I’m sure the rest of the victims will never unsee it,” Flynn said, referring to the crash scene.

Cruz-Mendoza pleaded guilty, was sentenced, served his time and after being released in March he is now set to be deported.

Flynn and Martin say their vehicles remain as evidence and are part of an open investigation.

“The car is just sitting there accumulating money every day,” Martin said. “$47 a day … that I’m supposed to pay to get the car back when they finally release it.”

Flynn says she was told the same thing when she asked about getting her car back. While her insurance company now owns her car, she claims her agents were never allowed to see it. And when she asked to get items from inside, she says she was told that couldn’t happen.

Flynn says she wanted something on the car that for her was priceless.

“That particular license plate in our case was … since our son had passed, we had a special license plate made. It was his soccer number and his initials and that meant a lot to us. And if we terminated that, we’d be giving that up,” Flynn said.

Both women say they have struggled for months to get answers from the district attorney’s office in Jefferson County and the Colorado State Patrol about why they would be responsible for paying storage fees associated with the impound lot.

CBS Colorado found they’re not in fact responsible, and the fees cannot start until the legal hold is lifted.

A spokesperson for the Colorado State Patrol, the agency that arranged the tow and storage of the vehicles, says owners are typically responsible, but in a car accident the insurance of the driver responsible for the crash should pay those fees. In this case that would be Monique Trucking company, which, in the days following the crash, was shut down and, the victims learned, had a reduced policy with not enough money to pay for all the damages.

“That just adds to all the insanity of what’s happened,” Flynn said.

“I feel like the guy that caused the accident got away with a lot it. It was ridiculous,” Martin said. “I feel like we are suffering more punishment than he did.”

As of January, the DA’s office says they offer impound assistance to victims, should they be faced with any fees.

In an email, the Colorado State Patrol says they are working on the ability to store vehicles in a secured lot at no cost to victims.

Source link

Colorado

Colorado residents should prepare for Xcel power outages this week as fire danger surges, utility says

Published

28 minutes ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Colorado residents should prepare for Xcel power outages this week as fire danger surges, utility says

Xcel Energy is warning its customers along the Front Range to be prepared for possible power outages this week as the risk of wildfire surges due to hot and dry weather.

“Due to the elevated risk of wildfire, enhanced powerline safety settings are active across out Front Range service territory,” according to a social media post from the utility. The settings make the powerlines more sensitive and prompt a line to stop the flow of electricity if an object touches a line.

The highest risk for wildfire danger will be Thursday, Friday and Saturday, when strong gusty winds are forecasted, according to the National Weather Service.

Humidity could be as low as 10% and winds may top 25 mph, leading to critical and extremely critical fire weather between Thursday and Saturday, forecasters said.

Tens of thousands of customers have lost power in recent months from planned outages during fire danger and powerline damage from high winds.

In December, 86,040 Xcel customers lost power because of a mix of planned shutoffs and downed powerlines from high winds. The decision led some customers to criticize the utility, asking it to fine-tune its weather responses.

Some schools in northern Colorado schools preemptively canceled classes in January after Xcel announced a planned power shutoff for 9,000 customers in the area.

Source link

Colorado

An Evening Against Edmonton | Colorado Avalanche

Published

13 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

An Evening Against Edmonton | Colorado Avalanche

Edmonton Oilers (31-25-8) @ Colorado Avalanche (43-10-9)

8 p.m. MT | Ball Arena | Watch: TNT, truTV, HBO Max | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)

After back-to-back shootout victories, the Avalanche concludes its two-game homestand on Tuesday against the Edmonton Oilers. This game is an Avalanche Cup Classic, presented by KeyBank, which will honor the 2022 Avs team that won the Stanley Cup and defeated the Oilers in the Western Conference Final. Tuesday’s game is the second of three regular-season meetings between the teams, as the Avalanche won 9-1 in Edmonton on November 8th, and they’ll play in Alberta on April 13th.

Sunday Success

The Avalanche defeated the Minnesota Wild 3-2 in a shootout on Sunday at Ball Arena. Nathan MacKinnon and Nicolas Roy both scored for Colorado while Nazem Kadri posted an assist in his second Avs debut. In net for Colorado, Scott Wedgewood stopped 32 of the 34 shots he faced. MacKinnon opened the scoring at 12:19 of the second period with his 43rd goal of the season via a right-circle one-timer set up by Kadri, who began the play with an interception below the offensive-zone goal line. Kirill Kaprizov tied the game for Minnesota with a power-play goal at 4:17 of the third period when his pass from the right circle deflected into the net. The Wild took a 2-1 lead at 7:01 of the third period when Nico Sturm scored a shorthanded breakaway. Colorado tied the game at 12:39 of the third period when Nicolas Roy scored his first goal as an Av and sixth of the season via a net-front deflection on Brett Kulak’s slap shot. In the shootout, Valeri Nichushkin scored for Colorado in the first round, Matt Boldy scored for Minnesota in the second round and MacKinnon tallied the winner in the fourth round.

Leading the Way

Nate the Great

MacKinnon leads the NHL in goals (43) while ranking second in points (104) and third in assists (61).

All Hail Cale

Among NHL defensemen, Cale Makar is tied for second in points (66) while ranking fourth in goals (19) and assists (47).

Marty Party

Martin Necas is tied for seventh in the NHL in points (76).

Series History

In 135 regular-season games against the Oilers, the Avalanche has a record of 74-49-6-6. The teams have met three times in the playoffs, with the Avs winning the 1997 Western Conference Semifinals in five games and the 2022 Western Conference Final in four contests.

Sunday in Sin City

The Oilers defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday. In the second period, Trent Frederic opened the scoring for Edmonton at 3:21 before Vegas’ Noah Hanifin tied the game at 13:09. The Oilers took a 3-1 third-period lead after goals from Vasily Podkolzin at 2:34 and Leon Draisaitl at 11:53. Jack Eichel cut the Golden Knights’ deficit to one with a shorthanded goal at 16:43 of the third period. Edmonton took a 4-2 lead when Kasperi Kapanen scored an empty-net goal at 18:03 of the third period.

Producing Offense Against the Oilers

MacKinnon has posted 39 points (13g/26a) in 29 regular-season games against the Oilers, in addition to five points (3g/2a) in four playoff contests.

Makar has registered 13 points (5g/8a) in 13 regular-season contests against Edmonton, in addition to nine points (2g/7a) in four playoff games.

Kadri has recorded 25 points (12g/13a) in 30 regular-season games against the Oilers, in addition to four points (1g/3a) in three playoff contests.

Edmonton’s Elite

Connor McDavid leads the Oilers in points (108), goals (35) and assists (73).

Draisaitl is second on the Oilers in points (92), goals (34) and assists (58).

Evan Bouchard is third on the Oilers in points (73) and assists (55) while ranking fourth in goals (18).

A Numbers Game

34

The Avalanche are 34-0-0 when leading after the second period this season.

85

Colorado leads the NHL with 85 second-period goals this campaign.

.806

The Avalanche’s .806 points percentage at home this season is the best in the NHL.

Quote That Left a Mark

“Emotional seeing the support I get here. It’s absolutely incredible. It makes me want to play harder for these fans and this team.”

— Nazem Kadri on the support he received from Avalanche fans at Sunday’s game

Source link

Colorado

Colorado Rockies spring training game no. 17 thread: Kyle Freeland vs. Jedisxson Paez

Published

1 day ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Colorado Rockies spring training game no. 17 thread: Kyle Freeland vs. Jedisxson Paez

In his first spring training action of 2026, Kyle Freeland faced the daunting task of pitching against Team USA in an exhibition game on March 4. He gave up a solo homer to Aaron Judge in a two-hit, one-strikeout performance in one inning.

Today, Freeland and the Rockies (8-6-1) will take part in his first Cactus League action against the White Sox (10-7) at Camelback Ranch. The Rockies are 5-2 on the road this spring vs. 3-5-1, including the showdown vs. Team USA, at Salt River Fields.

Today’s game represents a rematch of a Feb. 23 showdown where the Rockies beat the White Sox 5-4. Chicago will send Jedisxson Paez to the mound to start the game. The 22-year-old RHP will be making his third spring appearance. He’s posted a 23.14 ERA in 2 1/3 innings over two starts with six earned runs, six hits, including one homer, three strikeouts and one walk. Former Rockie Drew Romo will be starting at catcher for the White Sox.

On Sunday, four pitchers combined to throw five scoreless innings and Kyle Karros and Tyler Freeman each had two-hit performances in the Rockies 4-4 tie with Cleveland. Even though it’s only spring training, the Rockies offense has been much improved thus far. The Rockies rank among all Major League teams this Spring in: on-base percentage (.381, T-1st), home runs (23, T-4th), average (.287, 3rd), HBP (14, T-2nd), slugging (.492, 3rd), OPS (.871, 3rd), runs scored (98, 5th), RBI (91, 6th) and total bases (254, 6th).

Earlier on Monday, the Rockies released a new motto for the 2026 campaign: “New era. At altitude. We are here for the climb.”

Source link