Colorado
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.
“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.
Colorado
Dog reunites with owner after 43 days lost in the mountains
Dog survives 43 days in Colorado mountains and reunites with owner
After 43 days lost in the Colorado mountains, a Ring camera helps volunteers find and reunite 10-year-old dog, Rocky, with his owners.
A dog named Rocky was rescued and reunited with his owner after surviving 43 days alone in Summit County, Colorado.
Rocky, age 10, had gone missing in late December after escaping from a pet sitter while his owner was traveling.
According to local media, volunteers from Summit Lost Pet Rescue and members of the local community helped search for the dog for weeks, eventually locating and capturing him using a tip from a homeowner who spotted the dog on her Ring camera and a trap set with the owner’s scent.
According to Summit Daily, Rocky had gone from 50 pounds to 28 pounds during the time he was lost.
Video posted by Summit Lost Pet Rescue shows the heartwarming moment Rocky is reunited with his owner, Steven Maa.
“It takes partnership, a village, and donations to save lost pets,” the organization wrote on social media.
Colorado
Greer, Wooten combine for 20, Colorado women advance in Big 12 Tournament with 55-48 win over Kansas
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Logyn Greer and Desiree Wooten both scored 10 points in No. 6 seed Colorado’s 55-48 win over No. 11 seed Kansas on Thursday night to advance to the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Conference Tournament.
Greer shot 4 for 7 from the field and drained both her attempts from 3-point range from the Buffaloes (21-10). She had six rebounds and four blocks. Wooten added four assists.
Colorado was in foul trouble early, racking up seven fouls in the first quarter. A 9-0 run in the second quarter broke the game open for the Buffaloes and they entered halftime up 26-18. Their defense held Kansas to 36% (19 of 53) from the field and 15% (2 of 13) from 3-point range.
Kansas (19-13) was led in scoring by S’Mya Nichols, who put up 14. Her and Sania Copeland scored the only 3-pointers for the Jayhawks.
Colorado: Will play No. 3 seed Baylor on Friday. The Lady Bears are ranked No. 20 in the country.
Kansas: Will wait for an invitation into a postseason tournament.
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Colorado
Deen: Avalanche Solve Roster Needs. What’s Next? | Colorado Hockey Now
The trade deadline is less than 24 hours away and the Avalanche have already made the three moves that had been clear-cuts needs for the team.
They needed to improve their third pair. They did that by swapping Samuel Girard for Brett Kulak.
They needed to replace the recently departed Ilya Solovyov with a more capable No. 7 option on the blueline. That was accomplished with Wednesday’s trade for Nick Blankenburg.
Most importantly, the Avs needed a third-line center. On Thursday, they paid a hefty price to acquire Nicolas Roy from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
These are all things that had to be done. Now? They have nearly $7 million in available cap space (with Logan O’Connor on LTIR), with an opportunity to improve on the roster they have. This is the part of the trade deadline where general manager Chris MacFarland can bolster the team, find those luxury additions, and maximize his team’s chances and winning a Stanley Cup.
So what could that look like?
Most of the season has seen Ross Colton, Victor Olofsson, and even Gavin Brindley occupy the wings on the third line. With Roy expected to settle into that 3C role, there’s an opportunity to build on the wing. Elliotte Friedman mentioned last week that the Avs could move on from Colton. If so, that would give them a lot more cap space and a valuable asset they can use on the trade market to bring in a solid middle-six winger. Perhaps someone like Blake Coleman.
Olofsson has chemistry with Roy dating back to last season with Vegas, but you have to wonder if they’d be looking to upgrade on his position, too.
That leaves Jack Drury on the fourth line, centering Parker Kelly and Joel Kiviranta. Brindley slots down to the No. 13 forward (when everyone is healthy), while Zakhar Bardakov is the 14th option.
If O’Connor returns before the postseason, he instantly rejoins the fourth line. That would push Kiviranta out, and he’d be the 13th forward just like he was last year. Even in that scenario, I do wonder if the Avs decide to improve on Bardakov. He’s a young centerman who has impressed in limited minutes but has struggled to gain the full trust of the coaching staff.
There’s also the option to add another depth defenseman. Right now, an injury to Kulak or Devon Toews would again force Colorado to have five right-shot defensemen in the lineup. Blankenburg, who also shoots right, would be an ideal fill-in if an injury were to strike on the right side.
But what about another depth option? Colorado won the Cup in 2022 with both Ryan Murray and Jack Johnson on the outside looking in. After Girard’s injury, Johnson stepped in. But it didnd’t hurt to have multiple depth options just in case.
Could the Avs target another depth blueliner? If so, will they go for a bigger body? I’ve seen the name Urho Vaakanainen floated around. He would be the type of left-shot defenseman who could fill that role as an extra. Albeit his $1.55 million cap hit might be too large to take on without retention for such a limited role.
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