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Automobile accident victim identified

Mike McCollum

Steamboat Springs — The Colorado State Patrol identified the name of the 29-year-old Steamboat Springs woman who was killed in a car accident Saturday on U.S. Highway 40 as Laura Jarrell. — The Colorado State Patrol identified the name of the 29-year-old Steamboat Springs woman who was killed in a car accident Saturday on U.S. Highway 40 as Laura Jarrell.

— The Colorado State Patrol identified the name of the 29-year-old Steamboat Springs woman who was killed in a car accident Saturday on U.S. Highway 40 as Laura Jarrell.

Troopers said Jarrell was killed after losing control of her vehicle on U.S. 40 near Mount Harris. Her identity was not previous-released because her family had not yet been notified.

Jarrell was traveling eastbound on U.S. 40 near mile marker 113 just after 3 p.m. when she lost control of the vehicle, Colorado State Patrol Trooper Brett Hilling said. The cause of the crash is believed to be excessive speed for road conditions.



“The roadways were wet with a little bit of slush, and it had been snowing and raining intermittently at the time of the crash,” Hilling said.

The woman’s Volkswagen Jetta began to rotate counterclockwise and crossed into the westbound lane, where it was struck by another vehicle driven by Katherine McCall, 64, of Roy, Utah. The front of McCall’s vehicle struck the Jetta slightly off center on its right side and sent it careening off the road.



After being airborne for a short distance, the Volkswagen went off the north side of the road, down an embankment and rolled over, landing 41 feet from the highway. McCall and Jarrell were wearing seatbelts at the time of crash, Hilling said.

McCall’s vehicle veered off the south side of the highway after the collision. She sustained relatively minor injuries and was transported to Yampa Valley Medical Center for treatment. Hilling said Sunday that McCall remains in the YVMC in stable condition.

A rescue vehicle from the Yampa Valley Regional Airport was first on scene, and several passersby stopped to try to help at the crash site. Emergency personnel from the West Routt Fire Protection District freed Jarrell from her vehicle and administered CPR at the scene, Hilling said.

Jarrell was pronounced dead on arrival at YVMC. The preliminary cause of death is blunt force trauma, Hilling said.

– To reach Mike McCollum, call 871-4208

or e-mail mmccollum@steamboatpilot.com


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