Colorado State Patrol investigating fatal crash near Pueblo

PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Authorities are investigating a crash after a passenger was killed Sunday morning when their driver traveled off the roadway.

The crash happened on I-25 about three miles north of Pueblo just before 8 a.m., said the Colorado State Patrol.

The driver, 26-year-old Matthew Bernal of Pueblo, was going southbound when the vehicle began to drift into the median shoulder, scraping a guard rail. Bernal tried to regain control and moved the vehicle across the roadway, but the vehicle then went off the road and began roll, said CSP.

The passenger, 26-year-old Manuel Gallegos Padilla of Pueblo, died at the scene. CSP says that Padilla was not wearing a seatbelt. Bernal, the driver, was wearing a seatbelt and was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries.

Colorado State Patrol says that alcohol, drugs and speed are being investigated as potential factors.

The crash remains under investigation. CSP is asking for any witnesses to the crash to contact Trooper DeAntonio at (719) 544-2424.