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.
There are lots of cities and towns in the Denver area that are hosting professional fireworks shows on the Fourth of July this year.
Here are the shows taking place on July 4 in the Denver metro area:
Arvada
The City of Arvada’s annual fireworks display is scheduled to take place at Stenger Soccer Complex.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: 9:15 p.m.
Location: Stenger Soccer Complex
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
Aurora
The “4th of July Spectacular” takes place at the Aurora Municipal Center, located at 15151 E. Alameda Parkway.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Location: Aurora Municipal Center
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
Brighton
Brighton’s Fourth of July festival takes place in Carmichael Park at 650 East Southern Street. Fireworks will be set off after the band Thumpin’ performs.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: After concert
Location: Carmichael Park
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
Broomfield
Broomfield’s Great American Picnic takes place at Broomfield County Commons Park, which is located at 13200 Sheridan Boulevard.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: 9:15
Location: Broomfield County Commons Park
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
Castle Rock
The Town of Castle Rock is planning to launch their Independence Day fireworks display from Miller’s Landing. The town is hosting a Independence Day Celebration at Festival Park, and the fireworks can be viewed from there, or several other locations in town.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Location: Former Acme Brick facility
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
Commerce City
Fireworks will be set off outside Dick’s Sporting Goods Park as part of Commerce City’s 4thFEST celebration. They will be launched after the third of three rugby matches in the stadium.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: At the conclusion of the World Rugby Nations Cup
Location: Outside DICK’s Sporting Goods Park
Admission: 4thFEST is free, paid tickets required to see the rugby games
Link: More Info
Denver – Colorado Rockies games
Fans attending the July 4 Colorado Rockies home game at Coors Field will be treated to fireworks at the conclusion of the baseball game. There will also be fireworks for the game the night before — July 3.
Date: July 3 & 4 (against the San Francisco Giants)
Time: The fireworks are usually launched 20 to 30 minutes after the final out.
Location: Coors Field
Admission: Tickets required
Link: More Info
Englewood
In addition to all of its residents, the city of Englewood invites residents of Littleton, Sheridan, Arapahoe County and the South Suburban Parks & Recreation to their Independence Day Celebration.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: 9:15 p.m.
Location: Cornerstone Park and Belleview Park
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
Lone Tree
Lone Tree’s city fireworks display will be launched from Prairie Sky Park, and they’ll be viewable from many different locations in the city.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Location: Prairie Sky Park
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
Longmont
You can watch a fireworks show in Longmont at 9:30 p.m. There will also be a drone show right before then.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Location: Fireworks can be viewed “from many vantage points across the city.”
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
Louisville
The city of Louisville launches their annual fireworks show from Coal Creek Golf Course.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Location: Coal Creek Golf Course
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
Northglenn
Fireworks are part of the July 4th Festival in Northglenn at E.B. Rains Jr. Memorial Park.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: 9:15 p.m.
Location: E.B. Rains Jr. Memorial Park
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
Parker
Fireworks on July Fourth will be visible from many parts of the town of Parker.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Location: Fireworks launch northeast of Salisbury Park, although town officials encourage watching the fireworks from other areas, too
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
Thornton
Thornton’s fireworks display is called “Red, White & BOOM!” Fantabulous Fireworks.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Location: Carpenter Park Fields
Admission: Free
Link:
More Info
Westminster
Date: Saturday, July 4
Location: Westminster City Park
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
There are other fireworks displays taking place in the Denver area on days other than July 4, including Lafayette (June 27), Glendale (June 2), Erie (July 3) and Littleton (July 3).
DENVER – The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today the team has signed defenseman Brett Kulak to a five-year contract extension through the 2030-31 season.
Kulak, 32, was originally acquired by the Avalanche in a trade with Pittsburgh on Feb. 24, 2026 and tallied three points (0g/3a) in 27 regular-season showings for Colorado over 19:08 of average time on ice per game. His 2025-26 regular season consisted of playing for the Edmonton Oilers and Penguins in addition to the Avalanche where he totaled 12 points (1g/11a) in 83 contests. Kulak was the only NHLer to skate in 83 games last season. Additionally, he dressed in his 600th career NHL contest on Nov. 15 at Carolina and notched his 100th career assist on Dec. 30 vs. Carolina.
The 6-foot-1, 192-pound defenseman was in the lineup for all 13 Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Avalanche in 2026 and chipped in five points (1g/4a) and logged 20:38 of time on ice per game. The goal was his first with the Burgundy and Blue, regular season or postseason, and it came as the overtime-winner in Game 5 of the Second Round (May 13) to send the Avalanche to the Western Conference Final. It was the third time a defenseman scored a series clinching overtime goal in Avalanche/Nordiques history and the first since Sandis Ozolinsh (Game 6 of the 1996 Conference Semifinal) did it 30 years to the date prior to Kulak’s. Additionally, Kulak’s marker was the 10th time an Avalanche/Nordiques skater sent the team to the next round with an overtime tally and the first instance since Artturi Lehkonen in Game 4 of the 2022 Western Conference Final (June 6, 2022).
A native of Edmonton, Alberta, Kulak has registered 137 points (29g/108a) in 663 career regular-season games with Colorado, Pittsburgh, Edmonton, the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames from 2014-26. The last 370 of those games have come consecutively and he enters 2026-27 with the ninth-longest active “Iron Man” streak in the NHL. The left-shot defenseman has also added 29 points (4g/25a) over 111 career Stanley Cup Playoff contests and has been a member of three teams that have made it to the Stanley Cup Final (2023-24 and 2024-25 Oilers, 2020-21 Canadiens). Kulak’s 111 playoff games lead all NHL defensemen since making his postseason debut in 2020 and are second among all skaters in that span behind only Corey Perry (126).
Originally drafted by the Flames in the fourth round (105th overall) in the 2012 NHL Draft, Kulak appeared in 136 AHL games over parts of the 2012-19 campaigns (13g/41a). He was also a member of the then-ECHL Colorado Eagles for part of 2014-15. Prior to turning pro, Kulak played for the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants from 2010-14 and amassed 128 points (35g/93a) in 216 regular-season contests.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) is searching for a missing child.
CSPD said 11-year-old Emilio Gerardo was last seen Thursday around 8:06 p.m. near North Carefree Circle and Peterson Road.
Gerardo is described as a 4-foot-8 and 65-pound Hispanic male with brown hair and brown eyes.
Police said he was last seen in a black shirt, black pants and black Converse shoes. They said he may have a VR headset with him.
Police said he could be in the area of Sand Creek High School or Remington Park.
If you see Gerardo or know where he may be, contact the Colorado Springs Police Department at 719-444-7000.
Copyright 2026 KKTV. All rights reserved.
-
Alabama1 minute ago2019 Alabama Prison Escapee Now Facing Florida Charges For Walnut Hill Machete Carjacking : NorthEscambia.com
-
Alaska4 minutes agoMan with same name as US Sen. Dan Sullivan is eligible for Alaska’s primary ballot, judge rules – WTOP News
-
Arizona9 minutes agoArizona Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 Evening results for June 26, 2026
-
California14 minutes agoCalifornia Central Valley city’s first-ever Pride event moves indoors after pushback
-
Arkansas16 minutes agoFrom the Senate to the Attorney General’s Office, Gilmore’s exit opens District 1 seat
-
Colorado24 minutes agoSee the list of this year’s Fourth of July professional fireworks shows in the Denver area
-
Connecticut31 minutes ago
Newly released video shows Connecticut prison officers striking inmate before he died
-
Delaware34 minutes agoAnnual Delaware River Sojourn honors the nation’s 250th anniversary
