Copyright 2006 Denver Publishing Company
By Rocky Mountain News (Denver, Colo.)
Two people died Tuesday afternoon when the ambulance they were riding in rear-ended a semitrailer near Sterling.
The crash occurred just before 4 p.m. on Interstate 76 about 15 miles west of Sterling, State Patrol Trooper Eric Wynn said.
Both vehicles were westbound when the Rural/Metro Ambulance hit the back of the trailer, Wynn said. He said it appears the ambulance was moving into the left lane when it clipped the trailer.
Nurse Karen Woods, 43, of Elizabeth, and Vicky Thomas, whose age and address were not immediately available, were pronounced dead at the scene.
The ambulance patient, Kelsey Schlichenmayer, of Burlington, who is pregnant, was transported to Sterling Regional Medical Center with serious injuries.
Ambulance driver Chris Larusso, 22, of Westminster, and a passenger, Dan Beza, 31, of Centennial, were taken to Sterling Regional Medical Center with unknown injuries.
The driver of the semi, Plamen Zel-yamov, of Chicago, was not injured.
Westbound lanes of I-76 reopened at 9:25 p.m.