Two drivers and a pedestrian killed in I-25 crash identified

Courtesy: Colorado Springs Fire Department

(COLORADO SPRINGS) — On Friday, May 31, the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) released the identities of three people, two drivers and a good Samaritan who stopped to help, who were killed following a a wrong-way accident on I-25. in the early morning of Sunday May 26.

Officers initially responded around 4:45 a.m. Sunday to the northbound lanes of I-25 at the MLK Bypass after receiving a report of a head-on collision due to a wrong-way driver heading toward the south in the northbound lanes.

The investigation revealed that the southbound car, a Kia Sportage, collided head-on with a northbound Volkswagen.

Following the accident, a good Samaritan stopped to help and, after exiting his car, was struck by another car traveling northbound. Emergency responders arrived on scene and attempted to save lives, but a driver and a pedestrian were pronounced dead at the scene. The second driver was taken to hospital where he died from his injuries.

The driver of the Kia Sportage was identified by the El Paso County coroner as 37-year-old Darlisse Rivera-Albino. The driver of the Volkswagen was identified as 46-year-old Heidi Jackson and the pedestrian as 64-year-old Joel Frank Montalvo.

CSPD said the crash remains under investigation, although drugs and/or alcohol are considered factors in the crash.

These were the 21st, 22nd and 23rd traffic fatalities in Colorado Springs in 2024. At the same time in 2023, there had been 19 fatalities.