A Colorado snowplow driver is facing multiple charges, including careless driving causing death, following a fatal January crash involving a youth hockey team’s van.
Colton Wiedman, 29, was charged Thursday in connection with the four-vehicle crash that occurred on Interstate 70 near Herman Gulch, according to the Colorado State Patrol and reported by NBC affiliate KUSA-TV.
The incident, which took place shortly before 9 a.m. on January 29, resulted in the death of one man and injuries to eight other people.
State investigators found that Wiedman was driving a Colorado Department of Transportation snowplow westbound when he lost control. The plow crossed the median and crashed through a cable rail before entering the eastbound lanes.
The plow first struck an eastbound Toyota Tacoma, which was propelled across the median and into a westbound BMW. Wiedman’s vehicle then continued eastbound, striking a Sprinter van carrying a California-based youth hockey team. The impact forced the van down an embankment.
The driver of the van, Manuel Alejandro Lorenzana Villegas, was pronounced dead at the scene. He was the father of one of the girls on the team.
Eight passengers from the van were injured. According to CBS News Colorado, seven of those passengers were taken to the hospital by ambulance, including four children and three adults. One of the girls was airlifted to a trauma center with critical injuries.
The passengers were members of the Santa Clarita Lady Flyers, a team of players typically aged 11 and 12. The group was traveling to a game in a tournament run by the Western Girls Hockey League at the Edge Ice Arena in Littleton.
Wiedman and the occupants of the two passenger vehicles were unhurt.
According to the outlet, Wiedman faces charges of careless driving causing death, four counts of careless driving causing serious bodily injury, three counts of careless driving causing bodily injury and failure to drive in a designated lane.
The first three charges are classified as misdemeanors, and the final charge is a traffic violation.
The department confirmed that Wiedman was placed on administrative leave following the crash and stated the agency is addressing the matter in accordance with state personnel rules.
An arraignment hearing is scheduled for early May.
