Log In


Reset Password
News Education Local News Nation & World New Mexico

Multiple vehicle crashes strike Durango on Friday

Some injuries but no fatalities

Police were kept busy Friday running to multiple accident scenes, including one involving a motorcycle and pickup.

The motorcyclist walked away from a crash at the intersection of East Fourth Avenue and College Drive about 12:40 p.m.

Pickup driver Jeffery White, 20, was waiting at a stop sign on East Fourth Avenue and did not see the motorcyclist, Ethan Riser, 24, going east on College Drive because Riser was behind a city bus, said Lt. Ray Shupe, spokesman for the Durango Police Department.

When White, heading south, tried to cross the intersection, the passenger-side door of the truck was run into by Riser, his red Honda Shadow sliding underneath the truck; and the truck ran over his hand, stopping inches from his head, Shupe said.

Riser’s friends took him to Mercy Regional Medical Center for his injuries after he was seen in the ambulance that responded to the scene.

He was conscious and walking, Shupe said.

Neither of the drivers were under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and Riser was wearing a helmet.

White was cited for failing to yield, a traffic infraction.

Earlier Friday, a two-car crash at the traffic light on Colorado Highway 3 and Sawmill Road sent a woman to the hospital and temporarily halted traffic in both directions, Shupe said.

Authorities were alerted at 7:52 a.m.

A 16-year-old Durango girl, going northbound on Highway 3 in a 2008 silver-colored Toyota Prius, was turning left onto Sawmill Road when her vehicle was t-boned by a 2006 white Toyota Camry driven by Hazel Talamante, 24, of Hesperus, who was traveling southbound on Highway 3.

The girl driving the Prius and the driver of a vehicle behind her said they had the green turn arrow.

Talamante and a witness said they had a green light to proceed south on Highway 3.

Talamante was transported to Animas Surgical Hospital, where she was treated and released, said Megan Roberts, the human relations and marketing manager at ASH.

Both vehicles were towed, Shupe said.

“There are no citations now,” Shupe said Friday afternoon. “We’re still trying to determine who was at fault.”

A third accident was reported about 8:30 a.m. in front of Hassle Free Sports in the 2600 block of Main Avenue. Traffic was routed around the blockage.

A fourth accident occurred about 11:10 a.m. near College Drive and Camino del Rio.

daler@durangoherald.com



Reader Comments