Two crashes reported on relatively quiet holiday

Two crashes reported on relatively quiet holiday

July 7, 2001

Two motor-vehicle accidents were reported in the Cortez area on the Fourth of July, but neither was alcohol-related, and no driving-under-the-influence tickets were issued in the city.

According to State Trooper Steve Keller, the first accident occurred on U.S. Highway 160 between the Sleeping Ute Rest Area and the Montezuma County Fairgrounds at approximately 6:30 p.m.

Satima Rivas of New Mexico, the driver of a full-size van, was headed east when the car traveling in front of her slowed. Rivas tried to avoid the car, but spun across the right side of the roadway in a complete spin to the side of the road, where Rivas’s vehicle rolled one time. Only minor injuries were reported.

Rivas was issued a citation for careless driving causing injuries and driving without a valid driver’s license, Keller said.

Keller said the second accident occurred at 10:20 p.m., after the Cortez fireworks display. Lisa Stanley of Texas was turning east onto County Road G from Highway 666 toward the M&M Truck Stop when her Ford Escape collided with a Chevrolet pickup traveling north on Highway 666.

Dorothy Clitso of Flagstaff, Ariz., the driver of the pickup, sustained injuries to her arm, and another passenger suffered a facial laceration from the wreck. Both were treated and released from Southwest Memorial Hospital that evening. Stanley was issued a citation for failing to yield the right of way.

Neither vehicle was traveling at high speeds.

The Colorado State Patrol reported five fatal crashes across the state over the holiday and the previous weekend, from 6 p.m. June 29 to 3 a.m. July 5. Last year, 13 fatalities occurred.