The Montezuma County coroner released the cause of death for both drivers in a Tuesday car crash on Colorado Highway 184 near Dolores.
Coroner George Deavers told The Journal on Friday that Perry Lee Coley, 84, who was driving a camouflage Dodge truck that collided with an RV, was experiencing a “cardiac event” at the time of the crash. Though toxicology results won’t be ready for a few more weeks, Deavers said he is not anticipating that Coley or the other driver were intoxicated.
Coley’s official cause of death was determined to be from multiple blunt force injuries despite the cardiac event. Coley’s granddaughter Matalyn Katzdorn told The Journal that Coley, who is from Yellow Jacket, had just turned 84 years old on July 17.
Katzdorn said Coley was a U.S. Army veteran and had been a member of the 101st Airborne Division Screaming Eagles. He was also involved in law enforcement throughout the years, and was most recently a member of the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Posse. He was a retired electrician.
He is preceded in death by his wife and a daughter, and is survived by three children, their spouses, a widowed son-in-law, 18 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren.
The other victim, the driver of the RV, was identified as Douglas Heston, 49. According to Heston’s Facebook page, he was from Mansfield, Ohio. Heston’s cause of death was also determined to be from multiple blunt force injuries.
Heston leaves behind his wife, Amber Heston, and their two children, a GoFundMe for his family stated. He was also an Army veteran and retired from the Army after more than 25 years of service.
There has been no official confirmation on whether or not Heston’s family was with him at the time of the crash, but a witness to the aftermath of the collision told The Journal that Douglas Heston appeared to be the only one in the RV.
The crash occurred around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday around mile marker 3 on Highway 184. According to Colorado State Patrol, Coley’s camo Dodge truck, which was driving eastbound, crossed the center line and collided with the RV driven by Heston minutes after a REDDI (Report Every Dangerous/Drunk Driver Immediately) call.
Both men were pronounced dead at the scene.
A witness, Lena May, said the impact of the crash shook the windows of her house.
“It literally shook my house, and I knew something was wrong immediately because I’ve never heard a boom like that, and I’ve never felt my house shake like that either,” May said.
Upon arriving at the scene of the crash with a fire extinguisher, May said there were men who had stopped and were working to pry the doors of the campers open to make sure no one was trapped in the back of the RV.
“The men that actually went down there and were prying the doors open … they were the ones who really need all the credit, because that took somebody that was brave and could stomach a situation like that,” May said.
She said gas was spilled all over the road around the crash and it was evident there were fatalities, as no sounds or movements came from either of the heavily-crumpled vehicles.
“You couldn’t even tell there was a vehicle until you stepped back,” May said.
bduran@the-journal.com
