Top Stories of 2023: No. 3, community suffers loss of several teens to car crashes

Olivia Johnson

Dec 27

EDITOR'S NOTE: The No. 3 story is the community suffers the loss of several teens to car crashes.

In 2023, Fremont County suffered the loss of several teenage victims from car crashes.

A Cañon City teenager died Oct. 2 after the car he was riding in crashed along Colo. 115 in El Paso County.

According to the Colorado State Patrol, the single-vehicle crash happened at about 12:20 p.m. near milepost 27.

The driver of the Nissan Xterra, a 16-year-old male from Cañon City, was wearing a seatbelt and sustained minor injuries. A 17-year-old male from Cañon City sustained fatal injuries. He was not wearing a seatbelt. The third individual in the vehicle, a 44-year-old male, also from Cañon City, sustained moderate injuries. He was not using a seatbelt. This passenger and the driver were transported to a nearby hospital.

The El Paso County Coroner's Office was unable to release the name of the teen who died because he was a minor.

According to the CSP, the vehicle was traveling southbound on Colo. 115 near milepost 27 when it drifted off the right side of the road and collided with two large traffic cone devices on the shoulder. The CSP says the driver overcorrected by steering hard to the left. The vehicle then traveled across both lanes while rotating counterclockwise. It traveled off the east side of the road while its right tires dug into the shoulder, causing the vehicle to start rolling. It rolled approximately two times, traveling up a steep embankment and coming to rest on its wheels. It then rolled backward down the embankment, coming to rest on its wheels.

The 17-year-old was ejected from the vehicle and was pronounced deceased at the scene.
At that time, alcohol and drugs were not suspected as a contributing factor in the crash, and neither was speed.

On Aug. 23, a crash occurred just before 12:30 a.m. on Poplar Avenue, east of Birch Street, according to CSP public information officer Sgt. Troy Kessler.

Three teens, all from Cañon City, were in the vehicle. None were wearing a seatbelt, according to the CSP.

The driver, a 17-year-old male, and a passenger, a 16-year-old female, both sustained serious injuries and were transported to the hospital by ambulance. The third vehicle occupant, a 17-year-old male, sustained life-threatening injuries and was airlifted to a hospital outside the area.

One of the occupants involved in the single-vehicle crash died on Aug. 27 in a Colorado Springs Hospital and was identified as Landen Owens, 17, of Cañon City.

According to the accident report, a 2013 Nissan Maxima was traveling east on Poplar Avenue near Birch Street at a high rate of speed when it traveled off the left side of the road and struck two mailboxes and a power pole. The vehicle went airborne over an embankment and rolled through some trees and bushes, coming to rest against a tree.

"All three occupants were ejected during the crash sequence," Kessler said. "Multiple homes lost power in the area for an extended period of time."

Alcohol and excessive speed are suspected to be contributing factors in the crash, according to the CSP.

According to 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley, the CSP has not yet filed their report or request for charges to her office. At this time, there are no pending charges.

An 18-year-old Cotopaxi teen died on June 20 in an accident involving two vehicles near mile marker 232 on U.S. 50 between Cañon City and Salida.

According to Colorado State Trooper Gabriel Moltrer, the CSP received notification at about 5:21 a.m. of an accident involving a Chevy Silverado and a Ford F-150.

Fremont County Coroner Randy Keller identified the driver of the Chevy as Shane Semer, 18, of Howard, who was partially ejected from the vehicle during the accident and was pronounced deceased by Fremont County Chief Deputy Coroner Laura Allen at the scene of the accident. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to officials.

According to Moltrer, the Chevy was traveling eastbound on U.S. 50 when it, "failed to negotiate a slight right-hand curve and went off the left side of the road," which eventually led to an overcorrection and a front-to-front collision with the Ford F-150, which was heading westbound.

According to the official CSP report, it is suspected that the Chevy may have been speeding before the crash. The report also stated that according to the opinion of the responding officer, the driver of the Chevy may have been tired or fatigued before the crash.

Semer was a 2023 graduate of Cotopaxi High School, and to assist the community in its grief, members of the community, high school, and Solvista Health came together to provide free grief and loss support services at Cotopaxi Schools.