I-25 crash kills woman, injures 2 children

A crash on Interstate 25 killed a Fountain woman and left two children seriously hurt.

The Colorado State Patrol said the woman was driving a 1983 Toyota Tercel station wagon southbound on I-25 near South Academy Boulevard, when she crashed just after midnight Monday morning.

Investigators said the station wagon veered into the center median and the driver over-corrected, causing the station wagon to overturn.

The driver, Pamela McCollum, 42, was not wearing her seat belt and, according to investigators, was partially ejected. Officials said McCollum was transported to the hospital where she later died.

Officials said two passengers, Emony Whiteley, 10, and Kirsten Smith, 13, were not wearing their seat belts and were ejected from the station wagon. Whiteley and Smith were transported to Memorial Hospital with serious injuries, troopers said.

Family members said Whiteley, McCollum’s niece, is in the intensive care unit with a skull fracture and possibly a fractured shoulder. She was listed in good condition Monday night.

Smith, McCollum’s daughter, suffered a broken collarbone and was listed in serious condition Monday night. However, family members said they expected her to be released in a few days.

According to family members, troopers told them that a seat belt would not have saved McCollum’s life in this instance.

Troopers said the cause of the accident was still under investigation.