Several accidents close highways 13, 64 Sunday

MEEKER — Sunday Feb. 3 kept officers and rescue crews busy with several accidents that shut down the highways near Meeker.
The first accident occurred at 7:28 a.m. when a PTI truck went off the road at 64800 Hwy. 64. The tanker trailer carrying 25,000 pounds of propane separated from the cab, turned onto its side and continued to slide down the highway. Deputy Clay Caldwell of the Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Office responded to the accident along with Meeker Volunteer Fire and Rescue. The driver was transported to Pioneers Medical Center with minor injuries. Another PTI truck offloaded the propane from the wrecked tanker. After four hours, Hwy. 64 reopened to both lanes of traffic. The Colorado State Patrol investigated the accident.
At 11:45 a.m., The Rio Blanco County Communi cations Center received a report that two vehicles were off the road at 22000 Hwy. 13. There were no injuries reported in the accident. Deputy Caldwell responded to the accident scene. While investigating the accident, an RNI truck and three other vehicles had a chain reaction crash at that location. Meeker Volunteer Fire and Rescue responded and subsequently transported passenger Jeff Peck, 19, of Meeker, Colo., to Pioneers Medical Center with minor injuries. The drivers in the initial accident were Carlos Maldonado, 34, of Jensen, Utah, and James Roe, 21, of Rifle, Colo. Both drivers were cited for failing to drive in the designated lane. In the chain reaction accident, Daniel Boschelli, 21, of Colorado Springs, Colo., was cited for careless driving. Hwy. 13 was closed for about an hour during the investigation and clean-up of the accident scene.
At 2:30 p.m., a CDOT snowplow driver reported a semi truck off the road at 29500 Hwy. 13. Deputy Caldwell covered the accident. Meeker Volunteer Fire and Rescue was also dispatched. The driver, Jacob Callahan, 21, of Green River, Wyo., sustained no injuries. Callahan was cited for careless driving. Hwy. 13 was closed again for about an hour while the semi was towed out.
A report of a car vs. deer accident at 37800 Hwy. 13 was received by the RBC Communications Center at 4:35 p.m. The driver, Alvy Tucker, 88, of Meeker, sustained no injuries. Deputy Caldwell also investigated this accident.
At 2:30 a.m. Feb. 4, a 36-year-old male from Meeker called the RBC Communications Center stating that he was going to commit suicide with a shotgun. Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Deputy Adam Wade and Meeker police officers Jim Amick and Patrick Higney responded to the subject’s location on Hwy. 64. The officers were able to talk to the man and place him in protective custody without incident.