Five teenagers died after their car veered off a roadway and plunged off a cliff in Colorado — ejecting two of them out of the car, according to authorities.
The five 17-year-old boys were traveling southbound on Lookout Lane in Grand Junction late Saturday when the deadly crash unfolded, according to the Grand Junction Police Department and Mesa County Coroner’s Office.
The car managed to careen off the roadway and drop down the steep incline of a hillside, police said.
Emergency responders rushed to the scene around 7:45 a.m. on Sunday and uncovered the smashed vehicle and the five victims, who were all pronounced dead at the scene, cops added.
Though authorities would not identify the victims due to their age, family and friends have identified the boys as Braden Taylor, Tristan Tucker, Titus Gould, William Simms, and Tyler Martinez, the Daily Mail reported.
“Tristan Tucker was slated to start his senior year of high school, get his driver’s license, and do all the things teenagers do. He was full of life, potential, and a free spirit,” said a GoFundMe for Tucker’s family.
“His sudden passing has left his family, friends, and everyone who knew him facing unimaginable grief,” the fundraiser added.
Simms’ sister, Emily, also created a GoFundMe to help her single mother cover funeral costs, memorial services, and bills while she mourns the “tragic loss of her baby boy.”
A meal train fundraiser has also been created for the Gould family “as they navigate their new normal.”
Martinez’s grandmother, Debbie Gallegos Martinez, posted a picture of the crash scene on Facebook, writing, “with a heavy heart and tears rolling down my cheek my grandson was one of this boys.”
Calvin Wilken, Taylor’s grandfather, also confirmed on Facebook that his grandson died in the crash alongside “his buddies.”
“Very sad news our youngest grandson Braden 17 died in a car rollover down 5 ledges of a very steep drop off over looking the railroad tracks and the Gunnison River,” Wilken wrote.
“He was a passenger with 4 of his buddies, all deceased. Just a few blocks from their old house on the ridge top housing development above.”
The teens were all residents of Grand Junction and died as a result of injuries sustained in the horrifying crash, according to the local coroner.
Three of the car’s occupants, including the driver and the front-seat passenger, were wearing seat belts when the vehicle tumbled down the hillside.
Two of the occupants who were not wearing seat belts were ejected from the vehicle during the crash, the coroner added.
Authorities are probing speed “as a factor” in the tragic incident, cops said. The victims’ names will not be released by authorities since they are minors.
“Our hearts are heavy following the tragic losses this weekend,” the Grand Junction Police Department wrote in a statement on Monday.
“For the men and women of the Grand Junction Police Department, it has always been about the people we serve…because you’re more than members of our community,” the agency continued. “You’re our neighbors, our friends, and our family.”
