Multiple members of a Santa Clarita girls hockey team were injured in Colorado after an out-of-control snow plow slammed into their sprinter van on Thursday, killing an adult traveling with the team and leaving one of the players in critical condition, authorities said.
The crash occurred at 8:54 a.m. when the plow driver, traveling westbound in snowy weather, slammed through the median of Interstate 70 and into oncoming eastbound traffic where it collided with a sprinter van carrying the team, knocking it down an embankment, according to the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office.
The driver of the sprinter van died at the scene. One child was critically injured and was taken to a trauma center by helicopter. Four children and three adults were also hospitalized, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
Prescott Littlefield, the president of the Santa Clarita Flyers Hockey Club, wrote in a Facebook post that members of the 12 and Under Lady Flyers team were on their way to Denver to participate in a Western Girls Hockey League weekend.
“Words cannot express the heartbreak we are experiencing,” he said. “Please hold these families in your prayers.”
The Santa Clarita Valley Signal reported that the driver who died was the father of one of the girls. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger issued a statement saying she was heartbroken by the tragic crash.
“The loss of life and the serious injuries suffered by these young athletes and those traveling with them is devastating,” she said. “My thoughts are with the families, teammates, and loved ones who are enduring unimaginable grief.”
The plow truck involved in the incident was a Colorado Department of Transportation vehicle, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
