A one-car accident killed a Cortez woman Thursday afternoon, Oct. 31, on Highway 145, north of Rico.

Sandra “Sandy” Sangosti-Fuhrman, 50, died after her southbound Volvo station wagon veered off the right side of the road, crashed into an embankment and a tree, and then flipped onto its roof, according to the Colorado State Patrol. She was not wearing a seat belt.

“If she were, she probably would have survived because the crash caused her to be partially ejected out the side window,” said CSP Trooper Zach Dillon, who responded to the crash.

The accident occurred near the CDOT yard. Speed is a suspected factor in the crash considering the violent collisions, including hitting the embankment, a telephone box, and then a tree before flipping. The posted limit on that stretch is 45 MPH, according to the CSP.

“Rico Fire and Rescue were the first on scene and pulled her from the vehicle,” Dillon said. “She was alive and transported to Southwest Memorial, but did not survive.”

Sangosti-Fuhrman was traveling back from visiting her mother in Gunnison. She was a mother and well-loved bartender at Blondies Pub & Grill in Cortez.