A Rifle woman was killed in a head-on collision with a suspected drunk driver on Interstate 70 near New Castle on Saturday night.
Mark Groff, 55 of Grand Junction, was declared dead at the scene, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
The other driver was Stephanie Hillian, 36, of Rifle.
“She was transported to Valley View Hospital and pronounced dead sometime later,” CSP spokesperson Josh Lewis said.
I-70 was closed for a short time Saturday evening after the
8:30 p.m. crash.
According to the Colorado State Patrol, Groff may have been impaired by alcohol.
“Alcohol is being looked at as a possible factor,” Lewis said.
Groff was driving in a Hyundai heading eastbound on I-70 just east of New Castle when he collided with a guardrail. His car then crossed the median and collided with the front of Hillian’s Volkswagen.
“The Hyundai collided with the guardrail, then went through
the eastbound lands, through the median, and into the westbound lane of
traffic, at which point it ended up colliding with the front of the
Volkswagen,” Lewis said.
Lewis said he did not have an estimated speed for Groff’s
Hyundai. “It does not appear, initially, that speed is being considered a
factor,” Lewis said.
No other vehicles were involved in the accident, Lewis said.
This post will be
updated.