Two people who were found dead after their car crashed on U.S. Highway 160 just east of Bayfield on Saturday have been identified.
La Plata County Coroner Jann Smith said Monday that 25-year-old Devante Griffon and 24-year-old Klariza Tarango, both of Farmington, died in the crash. Their 5-year-old daughter, Kayce Griffon, survived with minor injuries and was taken to Mercy Hospital, where she was discharged and reunited with her grandfather.
Smith said the coroner’s office will not be able to conduct an autopsy until Wednesday, meaning several questions about the crash remain unanswered. Neither adult had their seat belt on when emergency personnel arrived, she said.
Colorado State Patrol and Upper Pine River Fire Protection District were notified of the crash at 12:35 p.m. Saturday by another driver. The flipped vehicle was reportedly seen Friday but was not reported until the following day.
CSP Trooper Hunter Mathews said Monday that the couple’s vehicle – an older, blue Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck – had been traveling east on Highway 160 and gone off the south side of the road.
It was the only vehicle involved in the crash. The cause and specific time of the accident – including whether it occurred Friday or Saturday – remains under investigation, Mathews said.
“I’m not exactly sure what led to them going off the road or what occurred afterward,” Mathews said.
Upper Pine Chief Bruce Evans said Kayce Griffon was not in a car seat or a booster seat at the time of the crash, and that she was “very lucky” to have survived. He urged drivers to make sure their children are secured in the appropriate car seats for their height and weight.
“It’s absolutely critical that people understand that your kid might get big enough to be out of a car seat, but there’s still height and weight requirements for them to be in a booster seat, and a lot of parents are not familiar with the requirements of a child to be in a booster seat versus into a car seat,” he said Saturday.
When reached for comment Monday, Evans did not have an update on the investigation but said a cross had been erected at the site of the crash.
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
