Coroner Identifies Woman Killed In Massive I-25 Pileup
DENVER (AP/CBS4) - The coroner's office says the person killed in a massive weekend traffic pileup near Denver was a woman from Oklahoma.
In a statement Tuesday, the Denver medical examiner's office identified the victim as Rebecca Newkirk, 61, of Stillwater, Oklah.
Authorities say another 30 people were injured in the chain of accidents on Interstate 25 that occurred as a band of heavy snow moved through south Denver on Saturday.
RELATED: 1 Dead, 30 Injured In Massive Pileup On I-25
Police say 104 vehicles were involved in crashes along a roughly 2-mile stretch of the highway. Vehicles littered northbound I-25 in the aftermath of three separate pileups between University Boulevard and Broadway.
Fourteen people would be taken by ambulance to Denver Health Medical Center. Hospital staff learned a child victim needed immediate lifesaving help when they arrived.
"They're starting to manage the situation saying, 'Look, this is real. You're going to be getting multiple victims, and it looks like, from what we can tell, there are a lot seriously injured patients here,' " said Dr. Chris Colwell, Emergency Room Medical Director at Denver Health.
Paramedics had two command posts on both ends of the scene where they could determine which victims were the most injured.
"It took time picking through the wrecked cars to get to them," Dr. Kevin McVaney said.
Denver Health officials say area hospitals were well prepared for the accident in part because they knew what happened on the scene quickly. But if the storm and ensuing crash happened on a weekday the situation could have been much worse.
It could be the end of the week before Denver police complete their investigation into the pileup.
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