DENVER (KDVR) -- Three people are dead after a stolen vehicle pursuit led to a head-on crash in Platteville Wednesday afternoon, Colorado State Patrol said in a press release Thursday.
Troopers responded to the crash on Highway 85 near Highway 60 around 3 p.m. According to CSP, deputies with the Weld County Sheriff's Office were pursuing a suspected stolen GMC Yukon on northbound Highway 85.
The sheriff's office said a deputy had pulled the driver over, and when the deputy approached the vehicle, it drove off at a high rate of speed, and that is when the pursuit began. At some point while the deputy was trying to locate the vehicle, WCSO said it crossed into oncoming traffic.
Trooper Sherri Mendez spoke with FOX31's Shaul Turner about the crash.
"It's tragic, and our hearts go out to everyone lost," Mendez said.
FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox"At the intersection of Highway 85 and Highway 60, the GMC Yukon went across the median into the southbound lanes, heading toward oncoming traffic," CSP wrote in the release.
The suspected stolen Yukon crashed head-on into a Toyota 4Runner. The crash caused a gas leak, which ignited both vehicles on fire and trapped the occupants in both vehicles.
CSP troopers attempted to separate the burning vehicles using a push bumper on one of their cruisers, and they attempted to put out the fire with extinguishers.
"They tried to get both occupants out of the vehicle and they tried to separate the vehicles to make sure the fire did not spread," Mendez explained.
Despite their efforts, all three occupants died on the scene, including the driver and passenger of the Yukon and the 57-year-old woman driving the 4Runner. The Weld County Coroner will release their identities pending next of kin notification.
However, it could be difficult.
"When a vehicle catches on fire, sometimes the VIN number — you cannot find it on there so it will take a while," Mendez said.
One Weld County deputy sustained minor injuries and was treated on the scene, and a CSP cruiser was damaged in efforts to separate the vehicles.
CSP's Vehicular Crimes Unit is investigating the crash, and the sheriff's office said it is conducting an internal investigation on the circumstances leading up to the crash.
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