Three Die In Fiery Larimer County Crash On Thursday

A traffic accident that claimed three lives in the Fort Collins area early on Thursday morning remains under investigation, according to a post on the Fort Collins Police Services Facebook page.

According to the post, a Larimer County Sheriff's Deputy found a Volkswagon Jetta on fire in the 5800 block of Taft Hill Road The deputy could see two people who appeared to be dead inside. Firefighters arrived on the scene to put out the fire, and Fort Collins Police were called since the area was in the jurisdiction of the police department. When they got there they discovered a third dead body in the vehicle.

At that point, the Fort Collins Police CRASH (Collision Reconstruction and Scene Handling) Team responded to take over the investigation. The post says the investigation has found that the Jetta was traveling southbound on Taft Hill Road when it drifted onto the shoulder of the road and hit a parked 2009 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 pickup truck that was parked on the shoulder after a breakdown.

The Silverado was unoccupied at the time of the crash.

According to the post, ''Poudre Fire Authority assisted in extricating the deceased individuals from the Jetta. Taft Hill Road was closed in between Trilby Road and Harmony Road for approximately 8 and a ½ hours while investigators processed the scene.''

The investigation continues, and anyone who has not spoken to police is being asked to contact Officer Matt Brede at (970) 221-6842.