AURORA | A wrong-way driver caused a head-on crash this morning on Interstate 70 near Chambers Road, snarling traffic and leaving both drivers with broken legs, police said.
The crash happened around 9:50 a.m. when a yellow Nissan Xterra, travelling westbound in an eastbound lane, slammed into a mini van headed eastbound.
In the minutes before the crash several motorists called police and said the Xterra was going the wrong way on Pena Boulevard near E-470 and reaching speeds of about 80 mph.
The Xterra driver, later identified as Taylor Payne, 64, of Blanding, Utah, continued in the wrong direction onto I-70, slamming into the green Dodge Caravan near the Chambers Road overpass.
From E-470 and Pena to Chambers and I-70 is about seven miles.
Denver police were trying find the Xterra before the crash, police said.
The driver of the minivan, Steven Jones, 49, of Denver, sustained a fractured sternum, wrist and ankle in the crash and is hospitalized in serious condition.
Payne is also hospitalized with a fractured leg and possible internal injuries. Both men were alone in their vehicles at the time of the crash.
Investigators are trying to determine why the driver was headed the wrong direction and why he did not stop. They are also investigating if drugs or alcohol played a role, police said.
Investigators initially believed Payne had been drinking because he incoherently said “two beers” several times after the crash, police said.
But investigators now believe Payne may suffer from a medical issue that led to his incoherence.
Police have not determined what charges, if any, Payne may face.
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