LONGMONT — Two tow truck operators and a stranded motorist winching a stuck pickup along the Diagonal Highway were hospitalized Friday morning after another driver lost control of her Toyota 4Runner and struck them.
The tow truck operators, who work for Tom’s American Towing, had pulled their vehicle to the shoulder of the southbound lanes just south of Airport Road to help pull out a white pickup that had slid off the road during the rush-hour commute.
Investigators said they suspect the driver of the SUV, 27-year-old Karen Sullivan of Longmont, was traveling too fast for the slick and snowy road conditions.
The 4Runner slammed into the three men at about 8:45 a.m. as they were pulling the pickup out. It hit both trucks before continuing down the embankment and stopping in snow and grass.
“One of the drivers was shoved up under the rear tires of the tow truck, and the other guy ... was bleeding from his nose,” said Cory Norris, a Tom’s Towing employee who came to the scene after hearing about the accident.
According to Mountain View Fire Protection District spokesman Jesse Hodgson, the driver of the pickup truck, identified as 48-year-old Robert Kirby of Longmont, was the most severely injured.
“He took the brunt of the injuries,” Hodgson said. “He suffered serious leg injuries, a minor head injury and a severe hip injury.”
Colorado State Patrol troopers said Friday afternoon that Kirby was taken to Denver Health Medical Center.
The tow truck drivers — Kevin Prior, 23, of Longmont and Tad Dewitt, 35, of Lafayette — suffered a head injury and a chest injury, respectively, Hodgson said.
Norris said Dewitt was released from Boulder Community Hospital on Friday afternoon, while Prior was expected to be kept at Longmont United Hospital overnight for observation.
Sullivan had no signs of injuries but was taken to Boulder Community Hospital because she is pregnant, Trooper Shannon Schwanke said.
A state patrol spokesman said she was released Friday.
“This is why we have lights on our vehicles,” Norris said. “Drivers should yield to tow truck lights, too, not just emergency vehicles.”
He said drivers often cause other accidents or put tow truck drivers at risk by not traveling around accident areas safely.
“Four-wheel drive doesn’t mean four-wheel stop,” Norris said as he stood in a lane of the closed highway, snapping pictures of the scene with a cell phone to send to his boss.
“I just think people thought the dusting of snow that we got overnight wasn’t going to be a problem,” Hodgson said.
Officers shut down the Diagonal’s southbound lanes at Airport Road, diverting drivers down Airport and Ogalalla roads. The highway reopened at about 10:15 a.m.
Volunteers with the Longmont Emergency Unit directed traffic so Boulder County deputies could handle numerous other weather-related traffic incidents.
Troopers said Sullivan was cited on suspicion of careless driving causing serious injury.
