Victims Of Fatal Crash In Weld County Identified As Pregnant Woman, Daughter
WELD COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) – Authorities have released the names of the victims in a fatal accident that occurred in Weld County on Monday.
Brandy Yates, 33, of Greeley, and Paradise Yates, 9, died when their pickup collided with a semi hauling logs. Devin Robbins, 24, who was also in the pickup, was injured in the crash.
Robbins told authorities his pregnant wife Brandy Yates and daughter were in the pickup with him. His family told CBS4 Robbins has a broken rib and torn pelvic muscles. They are waiting to see if he needs surgery.
The accident happened at Highway 14 and Weld County Road 31 when the pickup driven by Brandy Yates tried to cross the intersection.
Since 2009, including Monday's crash, there have been eight crashes at the intersection of Highway 14 and WCR 31. Five people died in those crashes and all five fatalities happened in crashes that occurred in the last 3 years.
The Colorado Department of Transportation says as Weld County booms traffic increases as well, including semi traffic and other vehicles. And as that rises, so to do crash rates.
"The increase has been huge here in the last few years and all we can tell people is to be aware of their surroundings and to pay attention to their driving," Colorado State Patrol Trooper Dwayne Lewis said.
After a crash that killed two people in June of 2013 CDOT increased the size of stop signs at the intersection. Highway 14, which runs east to west, has no stop sign and traffic on that road has the right-of-way. WCR 31, which runs north to south, has the stop signs. Standard stop sign size is 30 inches. The signs at the intersection are now 36 inches to be more visible to drivers.
CDOT also had plans in the works prior to Monday night's crash to add flashing stop signs at the intersection. That would be a first for the area, according to CDOT. They are in the process of ordering the equipment for the installation.
CDOT says line of sight at the intersection is good and it can't explain the intersection's high crash rate.
Troopers are trying to reconstruct exactly what happened. The semi driver, Matthew Crockett, 33, of Logan, Utah, says he tried to stop but his brakes locked up.
State Patrol said Crockett refused medical treatment. He will not be charged.
