For the second time in less than two weeks, Montezuma-Cortez High School students have been involved in a car crash resulting in serious injuries.

One student was in critical condition at St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction Monday and two others were transported to Southwest Memorial Hospital following a rollover accident in a private subdivision Sunday afternoon.

Sixteen-year-old Brad Russell of Lewis suffered severe head trauma, a collapsed lung, a cut spleen and multiple fractures, according to a spokesperson for St. Mary’s, Amy Carlton.

The driver, Christopher Willett, 17, and passenger Kit Carver, 16, were both transported to Southwest, where they were treated and released on Sunday. Both are from Cortez.

According to Colorado State Trooper Don Sheppard, the three boys were northbound on a deep-rutted dirt road south of Road 18 when Willett lost control of the 1985 Toyota pickup. The truck rolled two times and Russell was partially ejected from the passenger-side window. None of the boys was wearing a seat belt.

There were no witnesses to the crash. One of the boys reportedly ran to a nearby home to call 911.

The vehicle’s speed was estimated at 50 mph, a speed Willett reportedly admitted was "way too fast" for the road conditions.

The truck, however, did have a roll-bar and likely kept the vehicle from sustaining more serious damage and the boys from further injuries, Sheppard said. Drugs and alcohol are not believed to be a factor.

Willett will be charged with misdemeanor careless driving causing serious bodily injury.

On May 24, three other MCHS students were sent to the hospital following a two-car accident in which a vehicle veered across Colorado Highway 145 into their path, causing the accident.

Seventeen-year-old Cole Uptain of Cortez was airlifted to St. Mary’s, where he was initially listed in critical condition. He has been upgraded to good condition, according to Carlton.

Jessica Whatcott, 16, who was ejected from the vehicle and taken to Mercy Hospital in Durango, was released May 28, according to Mercy spokesperson Joe Wade Plunk.