Five people, including three children, were killed and two others were seriously injured on Nov. 24 after the driver of a stolen vehicle crashed into oncoming traffic on State Highway 83 in Colorado, authorities said.
The collision occurred at around 4:39 p.m. local time on Nov. 24 near Franktown, a community about 35 miles south of Denver, according to the Colorado State Patrol. The agency said it responded to a car crash involving a black Toyota hatchback and a tan Ford sedan near Russellville Road.
“The Toyota was traveling southbound on Highway 83 when the driver lost control and went off the right shoulder,” the Colorado State Patrol said in a news release obtained by USA TODAY. “The Toyota returned to the roadway and rolled onto the northbound lane, ejecting the driver.”
The hatchback hit the sedan, traveling northbound on the highway, “head-on,” according to the Colorado State Patrol. The agency said the driver of the hatchback was ejected from the vehicle when it rolled, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
At the time of the crash, the sedan was occupied by a man and five children, the Colorado State Patrol said in an update on Nov. 25. The man and three children were also pronounced dead at the scene, while two other children were airlifted to a nearby medical facility with life-threatening injuries.
“We are deeply saddened to report that five people lost their lives in this tragic crash,” the Franktown Fire Protection District said in a statement on social media. “Our thoughts are with all those affected. Please take care on the road-wear your seatbelt, drive safely & hold your loved ones close.”
The Colorado State Patrol said its vehicular crimes unit is leading the investigation, noting that it currently remains unknown why the hatchback lost control before the crash.
The names of the victims involved in the crash have not been released, but the Colorado State Patrol identified the driver of the hatchback as a 31-year-old Denver man, according to the agency’s Nov. 25 update.
The sedan included a 35-year-old man, a 13-year-old girl, an 8-year-old boy, a 12-year-old girl, a 12-year-old boy, and a 14-year-old boy, the Colorado State Patrol said. They were all from Colorado Springs.
At the time of the collision, authorities said the driver of the sedan and the front seat passenger — the 13-year-old girl — were both wearing their seatbelts. The two children who were airlifted for medical treatment were sitting in the back seat of the vehicle.
Authorities initially believed that three vehicles were involved in the collision, but the Colorado State Patrol later said that a black Ford pickup truck driving behind the sedan was able to stop just short of the crash. No damage was observed on the pickup truck, and authorities determined that it was not involved in the crash.
A preliminary investigation of the car crash revealed that the driver of the hatchback was not using a seatbelt at the time of the incident, according to the Colorado State Patrol. The hatchback was reported stolen through the Aurora Police Department on Nov. 24 at about 3:30 p.m. local time.
The Aurora Police Department told USA TODAY that officers responded to a reported carjacking that day at a multi-level parking garage. The carjacking victim told officers that she was getting into her vehicle, a black Toyota hatchback, on the first level of the garage when an “unknown man approached, held the door open and asked her for a ride,” according to police.
The victim had refused, and the suspect pulled her from the driver’s seat and drove off in her vehicle, police said. The vehicle was then placed into all motor vehicle theft systems, and investigators determined that the suspect in the carjacking incident was the same man involved in the car crash on State Highway 83.
“Our investigators are still working the initial investigation into the carjacking separate from the crash in Franktown,” the Aurora Police Department said in a statement.
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Following the crash, authorities said the highway was closed due to the investigation and cleanup. Drivers in the area were advised to use alternate routes.
The Franktown Fire Protection District described the incident as a “complex motor vehicle” crash and warned drivers that the highway lanes would be closed for an “extended amount of time.”
The highway later reopened at around 11:50 p.m. local time, according to the Colorado State Patrol.

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