Newlyweds and bride's mother killed after semi flips, spills pipes on interstate
Still image taken from aerial video showing a deadly semi rollover crash in Colorado. (KDVR)
WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. - A newlywed couple and the bride’s mother were killed in a crash while driving to the Colorado mountains for a honeymoon vacation just days after their wedding.
Police said it happened Thursday morning on I-70 west of Denver. A semi traveling eastbound overturned, spilling its load of large plastic pipes over the median into the westbound lanes, causing three vehicles to crash, Wheat Ridge police division chief Eric Kellogg said.
Ruben Rodriguez, 33; Juliana Rodriguez Plata, 37, and her mother, Luz Melba Martinez, who had traveled from Colombia for the Aug. 10 wedding, were killed in the crash, the Associated Press reported.
The bride's father, Carlos Joaquin Plata, and the couple's 1-year-old son Danny were injured, family members told KMGH-TV.
The family was on the way to the mountains for a honeymoon vacation when the crash occurred, family members said.
Still image taken from video showing a semi rollover crash in Wheat Ridge, Colorado on Thursday. (KDVR)
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Colorado transportation officials said it happened in an active construction zone. A truck driver who frequents that stretch of interstate told KDVR that he almost flipped his dump truck driving through the same area.
"One of my employees, when we were driving the other day, I told him that somebody is gonna get in an accident and hurt somebody here, so when I heard that there was an accident, it was no surprise," Robert Jacobs told KDVR.
Family members told KMGH-TV that they’re still reeling.
"And then the baby without both of his parents, you know? It’s hard. It’s hard for the family. So we’re just gathered here right now just trying to be strong together," Janell Rodriguez — Ruben Rodriguez's sister-in-law — said.