By Christopher N. Osher
The Denver Post
 AP Photo/David Zalubowski An unidentified firefighter loads up debris while a tow truck driver straps the remains of a 1992 Chevrolet Suburban to a flatbed truck outside Johnstown, Colo. |
JOHNSTOWN, Colo. — Seven people, including two small children, died early Thursday when their sport utility vehicle plunged off an overpass in northern Colorado and burst into flames.
Names of the victims were not released Thursday, but the Larimer County coroner’s office said they are all believed to be from Alberta, Canada, where the vehicle is registered.
The crash occurred about 4:30 a.m., 40 miles north of Denver on Interstate 25 near Johnstown.
Everyone in the Chevrolet Suburban, including a male toddler and a male infant, was pronounced dead at the scene. The others in the SUV included three men and two women.
Colorado State Patrol Trooper Gilbert Mares said the vehicle was northbound on Interstate 25 when it veered off the left side of the road and traveled along the median until the median ended at the Colorado 60 overpass.
The Suburban became airborne, sailed 40 to 50 feet, crashed into a concrete barrier and was engulfed in flames.
“I’ve been a trooper for 18 years, and this is one of the worst accidents I’ve ever seen,” Mares said.
Autopsies were planned for today. Larimer County coroner’s investigator Maury Miller couldn’t say how long it would take to identify the victims because of the conditions of the bodies.
He said investigators found a driver’s license in the wreckage but it was impossible to match the photo to any of the victims.
Weather does not appear to have been a factor in the crash, but investigators have not determined whether alcohol, drugs or speed were involved.
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