Lincoln County accident info?

[Martinjmpr]

I know this is a long shot but I thought I'd throw it out there.

On Saturday I was out for a ride on my motorcycle. Since it's still kind of iffy up in the mountains, I went out onto the plains. I was riding on CO 71 between Limon and Ordway and I came across a terrible car accident.

Single vehicle accident, vehicle rolled several times and was probably 40 feet off the roadway down an embankment and up against a fence. All airbags deployed. Debris all over the road. There were at least 5 cars that had stopped by the time I got there. Law enforcement had not yet arrived.

I stopped my bike and went to see if there was anything I could do. I saw a woman sitting down on the ground with a blanket wrapped around her, I presumed she was in the car. I asked one of the other bystanders if there was anybody else in the car.

Now, I'm a bit hard of hearing AND I had my helmet on and earplugs in, but it sounded like the bystander said there was nobody else in the car, but there was a child who had been thrown from the car and died, and they had the body in another vehicle.

I'm not a medic and it didn't look like there was anything that could be done. I picked up some of the debris off the road (which heartbreakingly included clothes of a young child) and waited about 15 minutes. This was a LONG way from any town and LE had not shown up yet. Since I wasn't a witness and there seemed to be plenty of other people standing around I saw no point in staying there and left.

But I'm still haunted by it and kind of want to know what happened. This would have been on State Highway 71, in Lincoln County, about 10 miles South of Punkin Center.

I'm assuming that for a fatality, the State Patrol would investigate. Does anyone know if reports like this would be public information? I checked the local news outlets and didn't see anything. Nearest city would probably be Colorado Springs.

I know it seems odd but I kind of want to know whether there was actually a fatality or whether I mis-heard what the bystander said.

Thanks in advance for any help.

EDITED TO ADD: This was on Saturday, 3/30/24 and the accident happened around 3:10 - 3:15 PM. I got there about 3:20 and left the scene at probably 3:45.

[Clint45]

That really sucks.

[ray1970]

You?ll probably just have to wonder. Unless you were actually involved in the accident you likely won?t find out anything about it.

[BushMasterBoy]

You can call the State Patrol and advise that you were one of the first people on scene.

CSP Contact:

TROOP 3D LIMON

Captain Clinton Rushing
131 C Ave.,
Limon, CO 80828
719-775-2964 *Press 0

[ray1970]

You can call the State Patrol and advise that you were one of the first people on scene.


Their first question is going to be if you actually witnessed the accident. Once you tell them you didn?t actually see the accident happen they will have no use for you.

In a similar scenario, I was first on scene to a similar accident. I mostly stopped because one of the people thrown from the vehicle was literally in the road and I had to stop. When authorities arrived they wanted to know if I had witnessed the accident. When I told them that I hadn?t actually witnessed it and had only arrived on scene moments after the fact there was nothing they needed from me and they sent me on my way.

[FoxtArt]

try CORA if the LEO doesn't get you anywhere, imho.

https://publicsafety.colorado.gov/contact-us/colorado-open-records-request

ETA: They can redact things, but they shouldn't refuse a CORA request for the report itself. So you won't see names, but I expect you'll find just enough basic info to (probably) satisfy your question.

[BushMasterBoy]

I had a friend, whose friend was in a accident. I called the CSP and they told me everything. Your mileage may vary. As a side note, I run a dash cam on all my vehicles. It may record evidence that may seem insignificant at the time, but is valuable after the fact.

[eddiememphis]

You could try Facebook and Nextdoor

[Clint45]

There are a LOT of members here who are active LE/EMS.

About a decade ago, a friend had an abusive ex stalker who later went to prison for severe child abuse resulting in brain damage to a toddler. They were released to a halfway house and immediately began harassing my friend online via sockpuppet accounts, making threats.

I posted about it here, and someone PMed me with information about where the offender was and who their Parole officer was.

I'm certain someone might be able to find out details about a fatal MVA involving a child at that date and time.

It's good to have closure for peace of mind, otherwise thoughts can keep you up at night.

[OneGuy67]

There are a LOT of members here who are active LE/EMS.

About a decade ago, a friend had an abusive ex stalker who later went to prison for severe child abuse resulting in brain damage to a toddler. They were released to a halfway house and immediately began harassing my friend online via sockpuppet accounts, making threats.

I posted about it here, and someone PMed me with information about where the offender was and who their Parole officer was.

I'm certain someone might be able to find out details about a fatal MVA involving a child at that date and time.

There were a number of LEO's here, but over time, most have left or just don't post anymore, due to the general feeling that they aren't welcome, passive aggressive dislike of LEO's or outright hostility on this site.

[BPTactical]

After spending 12 years off and on driving a tow truck chasing wrecks in Denver and 24 years with CDOT the best way to deal with the afterthoughts of the carnage that occurs?
Let it go-worrying about something that occurred through no fault of yours is an absolute waste of your resources. You can’t change it or the outcome.
Put it away.

[Bailey Guns]

There were a number of LEO's here, but over time, most have left or just don't post anymore, due to the general feeling that they aren't welcome, passive aggressive dislike of LEO's or outright hostility on this site.

Every gun forum I frequent is like that.

[BPTactical]

There were a number of LEO's here, but over time, most have left or just don't post anymore, due to the general feeling that they aren't welcome, passive aggressive dislike of LEO's or outright hostility on this site.

I think a tremendous amount of the general citizenry has finally awakened and realized that LE is not their friend. There are too many examples of LE jamming people up for extremely questionable reasons. Mistrust of any form of authority is at an all time high and for quite often, valid reasons.
Funny when police investigate a domestic violence but yet look at the percentage of cops that commit the same thing.
People are wising up to it.
We have had this discussion-
You have 2 types of cop-
You have those that genuinely want to serve their community, make it a better place and want to help. They are few and far between anymore it seems.
You have those that are the "Law Enforcement" angle- they will do their masters bidding, their 401K and kids braces are more important than your Rights, job, property or freedom.

[OneGuy67]

I think a tremendous amount of the general citizenry has finally awakened and realized that LE is not their friend. There are too many examples of LE jamming people up for extremely questionable reasons. Mistrust of any form of authority is at an all time high and for quite often, valid reasons.
Funny when police investigate a domestic violence but yet look at the percentage of cops that commit the same thing.
People are wising up to it.
We have had this discussion-
You have 2 types of cop-
You have those that genuinely want to serve their community, make it a better place and want to help. They are few and far between anymore it seems.
You have those that are the "Law Enforcement" angle- they will do their masters bidding, their 401K and kids braces are more important than your Rights, job, property or freedom.

That's a pretty disappointing statement coming from someone I've had a lot of dealings with, which makes me wonder which camp you put me into. If its the first, you then are very wrong in your assessment of the majority of law enforcement and if its the latter, I must wonder and re-evaluate my experiences with you.

[BushMasterBoy]

If you worry about the police, there are others that watch over them. There is accountability.

https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-inside-militarys-secret-undercover-army-1591881

[BPTactical]

That's a pretty disappointing statement coming from someone I've had a lot of dealings with, which makes me wonder which camp you put me into. If its the first, you then are very wrong in your assessment of the majority of law enforcement and if its the latter, I must wonder and re-evaluate my experiences with you.

If you have to second guess my view of you my friend then I am very, very disappointed.

[rondog]

I came up on an accident scene in Texas in the early 90's that was the most bizarre thing I've EVER seen - would be hard to explain it, but I'm sure the only survivors were a few cows. I couldn't stop, every first responder for 200 miles around was already there, they hustled me through real pronto-like.

I've had a theory for years, but I've always wished I could find out what really happened. It was absolute carnage.

[hunterhawk]

I highly suggest you dont follow up on it, everytime i follow up with something because i had to know the outcome it stays with me longer. Just my 2 cents

[theGinsue]

There were a number of LEO's here, but over time, most have left or just don't post anymore, due to the general feeling that they aren't welcome, passive aggressive dislike of LEO's or outright hostility on this site.


Every gun forum I frequent is like that.

This saddens and disappoints me.

I've had a couple of unearned bad experiences with a few members of the LEO community, and then I've had some amazing ones as well (some "unearned), both in the capacity of their official duties. This includes one bad experience when I was performing a law enforcement role for the USAF.

In both cases, I judge the individual actions of the officers but expect the majority of those serving in LE roles to be those who don't carry a chip on their shoulder and genuinely mean to "serve and protect".

While there have been quite a few validated stories in the news of bad cops, I still think it doesn't represent the career as a whole but know that those sorts of stories have a way of being highly publicized. I've also seen what seems to be a 1000 fold increase in the bad treatment of LEO's across the nation. I expect this might drive the potential to have a bad LEO experience. One thing is for sure, there is no way in the world you'd find me even considering a career in law enforcement these days do to the hostility they face.

I also know that the LE members of this site that I've been blessed to interact with all seems to represent the top 5% of their profession and I have had mad respect for each of them. It's a shame we've lost these members.



Now, back to the OP: It seems really bad auto accidents are skyrocketing. Just in the past month I've personally come across 3 or 4 doozies. While my curiosity drives me to wonder what caused it and how those involved are doing, I'm usually past this within minutes. I've come to consider that so long as "me and mine" are okay, I have to let the rest go or I'll never get and peace. I hope the OP can do the same and find peace.

[Oscar77]

You can call the State Patrol and advise that you were one of the first people on scene.

CSP Contact:

TROOP 3D LIMON

Captain Clinton Rushing
131 C Ave.,
Limon, CO 80828
719-775-2964 *Press 0


OP:
Yes, start there. Call them.

[Oscar77]

I think a tremendous amount of the general citizenry has finally awakened and realized that LE is not their friend. There are too many examples of LE jamming people up for extremely questionable reasons. Mistrust of any form of authority is at an all time high and for quite often, valid reasons.
Funny when police investigate a domestic violence but yet look at the percentage of cops that commit the same thing.
People are wising up to it.
We have had this discussion-
You have 2 types of cop-
You have those that genuinely want to serve their community, make it a better place and want to help. They are few and far between anymore it seems.
You have those that are the "Law Enforcement" angle- they will do their masters bidding, their 401K and kids braces are more important than your Rights, job, property or freedom.

I know I'm going to regret wandering into this side track of this thread.....................
But.............. ok I'll ask who are the "Masters" controlling the Police?

And the latest domestic violence arrest of a cop that google gave me in the Metro area was on March 22, 2024:
Denver police officer arrested for harassment, DPD said (kdvr.com) (https://kdvr.com/news/local/denver-police-officer-arrested-on-harassment-charges-dpd-said/)
But you are saying the cops are getting away with it or? ?


I'm not sure where "The Hill" falls in creditability but this article about a 2023 poll seems to suggest most Americans trust their police forces:

62 percent in new survey trust police to do what is right all or most of the time | The Hill (https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3861578-62-percent-in-new-survey-trust-police-to-do-what-is-right-all-or-most-of-the-time/)


PS: Here's a news article from today about a CA cop being arrested for gun violations:

San Bernardino sheriff’s deputy arrested on felony weapons charges, accused of ties to outlaw biker gang | Fox News (https://www.foxnews.com/us/san-bernardino-sheriffs-deputy-arrested-felony-weapons-charges-accused-ties-outlaw-biker-gang)

[Clint45]

I've had hundreds of interactions with law enforcement, both official and unofficial.

I have met some very bad cops.

I have met some very good cops.

The overwhelming majority fall somewhere in the middle, and it's a fairly wide spectrum encompassing policy and personality.

[kidicarus13]

I've had hundreds of interactions with law enforcement, both official and unofficial.

I have met some very bad cops.

I have met some very good cops.

The overwhelming majority fall somewhere in the middle, and it's a fairly wide spectrum encompassing policy and personality.Sounds like my experience with the U.S. population as a whole. Imagine that.

[OneGuy67]

Sounds like my experience with the U.S. population as a whole. Imagine that.

Yup. Full agreement.

[TheGrey]

I'm trying to dig for information. All I've been able to come up with is this spreadsheet. It's not much, it's something:
https://www.codot.gov/safety/traffic-safety/assets/fatal-crash-data-city-county/city-and-county/fatality_by_county_20240410.pdf

[Martinjmpr]

I'm trying to dig for information. All I've been able to come up with is this spreadsheet. It's not much, it's something:
https://www.codot.gov/safety/traffic-safety/assets/fatal-crash-data-city-county/city-and-county/fatality_by_county_20240410.pdf

Very interesting. 2 fatal accidents in Lincoln County in March. I'm guessing this one was not the one where the driver was impaired.

Thanks for providing that link!