A Towaoc woman and a New Mexico boy were killed and four other persons, including an 8-month-old infant, were hospitalized as a result of a two-car accident late Christmas morning on Highway 160/666 south of Cortez.

Gaylyne Hatch, 43, sustained massive head injuries and multiple fractures to her left femur and was transported to Southwest Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 12:15 p.m., according to the Colorado State Patrol.

Lucas Jaramillo, 11, of Bloomfield, N.M., was pronounded dead at the scene of the accident. He suffered massive head injuries and internal trauma, according to the State Patrol.

Jaramillo was a passenger in a Ford Thunderbird driven by his sister, Sylvia Jaramillo, 19, also of Bloomfield.

According to the State Patrol report, the accident occurred at 11:30 a.m. The Thunderbird was traveling north on Highway 160/666 three miles south of Cortez when it suddenly slid on the slushy road, spinning more than 360 degrees and colliding with a southbound Pontiac Sunbird containing four people.

The Pontiac, driven by Travis Lang, 23, of Towaoc, rotated 90 degrees and skidded off the right side of the road, coming to a rest facing east in the west barrow ditch, the report said. Hatch was a passenger in that car.

According to the State Patrol, the posted speed limit is 65 mph and both vehicles were estimated to be traveling at 60 mph.

Colorado State Trooper Joe Wilson was assisting the investigation at the hospital when the victims arrived, and said the accident’s aftermath was "terrible."

"It was very traumatic," Wilson said, "both the injuries and the emotions."

According to Jenis Tucker, executive secretary of administration for Southwest Memorial Hospital, Jaramillo was transported to the hospital with head, neck and chest injuries, where she was listed in fair condition Tuesday afternoon.

Also in the Pontiac Sunbird were Heather Hatch, 21, of Towaoc, and her eight-month-old daughter, Rakia Lang.

Tucker said the infant sustained head and chest injuries and was airlifted to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction. She was in the ICU and listed in critical condition late Tuesday afternoon, according to Dennis Bruens, a spokes-person at St. Mary’s.

Heather Hatch’s injuries included head and chest trauma and she was listed in stable condition at Southwest Memorial, Tucker said.

Travis Lang was also transported to Southwest with neck and chest injuries.

According to the report, none of the accident victims were wearing seat belts, but no one was ejected from the vehicles. Airbags were deployed in the Pontiac.

Wilson added that the infant was not in a child restraint seat but was on the mother’s lap at the time of the accident.

No citations have been issued yet and it is not known whether drugs or alcohol were involved, according to CSP Capt. Allan TeBrink.

The State Patrol reported two other holiday weekend accidents involving fatalities in the state.

Fourteen-year-old Zachary Dorenkamp of Lamar was partially ejected from a vehicle in which he was a passenger when the 1997 Dodge pickup, eastbound on Highway 40 in Lincoln County, ran off the road on the left, rolling over onto its roof and down an embankment.

According to the report, Dorenkamp was wearing a seat belt and died at the crash scene. Speed and road conditions were not available.

The third fatal crash, involving a 1997 Dodge pickup truck with five occupants, was southbound on Highway 287 in Kiowa County. According to a report, the vehicle ran off the road on the left side of the road on a righthand curve.

The driver, Francisco Palacios of Garden City, Kan., was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected and killed. Three of the four passengers were also injured. The vehicle was traveling at 60 mph in a 65 mph speed zone.