PROWERS COUNTY — Wiley School District in southeastern Colorado has canceled classes for the day following the deaths of four students in an overnight crash on Highway 287 in Prowers County.
The campus is open for people seeking to speak with teachers or counselors as a result of the loss for the community. Otherwise, all classes and activities are canceled.
According to Colorado State Patrol, around 9:30 p.m. a group of teens was in a Ford Explorer that collided with a semi at the intersection of Highway 287 and Prowers County Road 196.
Wiley is 10 miles northwest of Lamar.
The initial report shows the teens made a left turn in front of the semi when it was struck, but new information from Colorado State Patrol reports the vehicle with the teenagers did not make a left turn in front of the semi. Instead it was eastbound on PCR 196, ran a stop sign and was hit by the northbound semi on Hwy 287. The 16-year-old male driver, a 15-year-old male passenger, and a 14-year-old female passenger all died at the scene. A 16-year-old male passenger died at the hospital. The patient taken to Colorado Springs is a 15-year-old male.
Investigators do not suspect alcohol or drugs played a role in the crash.
The names of the teens killed have not been released.
Colorado State Patrol says a 50-year-old passenger in the semi remains in the hospital. He was in the sleeper cab at the time of the crash and suffered serious injuries. The 25-year-old male driver was treated at the hospital and released.
As of 6 a.m., the intersection has reopened.
