Highway 50 reopened after crash involving state employee sent three to hospital

OTERO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Highway 50 is reopened after a crash involving a state employee shut down the road earlier today.

According to the Colorado State Patrol (CSP), troopers responded to a crash on Highway 50 just west of Rocky Ford around 11 a.m. Officials say the crash involved a Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) truck and a Toyota Rav4.

CSP says initial reports show the DFPC truck was travelling westbound when it went to turn left onto Otero County Road 10, entering the path of the Rav4 as it was going eastbound on Highway 50.

The driver of the DFPC truck was 33-year-old Curtis O'Leary, an arson investigator with the state's DFPC. He was taken to a local hospital. CSP says the truck was not responding to a work-related incident at the time and no emergency lights or sirens were activated.

CSP says the 75-year-old male driver and 70-year-old female passenger of the Rav4 were taken to a local hospital as well.

Highway 50 was closed for around two hours, then reopened again shortly after vehicle recovery operations, according to officials.

O'Leary was cited for careless driving. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, CSP says.

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