Family moving to Colorado suffers injuries, loses belongings after highway crash

DENVER — Things did not go as planned for a family of four who were moving from Nevada to Colorado earlier this week.

A crash on Interstate 70 destroyed most of their belongings as they were heading to their new home in the Green Valley Ranch neighborhood in Denver.

“We wanted to move to Colorado to be closer to our friends and family,” Carlos Bautista said. “We were on our way from Las Vegas.”

It was supposed to be a fresh start for Bautista, his wife and two kids, ages 8 and 15.

Bautista and his son were in a moving truck about an hour away from their new home on Monday when the crash occurred. His wife was driving a separate vehicle behind them. He said the roads along I-70 were wet and icy.

“The splashback from the ground was hitting the windshield. I tried using the wipers, but it wasn’t cleaning the windshield at all,” Bautista said.

He said his visibility was being impacted so he pulled over to the emergency lane to fix the issue. That’s when things took a turn for the worse when his Budget moving truck was struck from behind.

“All of a sudden I just got hit,” Bautista said. “So the vehicle hit the truck. Then the truck hit me, and then I went flying into the guardrail and over.”

Bautista said he was taken to the hospital with cracked ribs. His son, who was still inside the truck at the time of the crash, was not injured. He said most of their belongings went flying all over the highway.

“We had to get another truck to get what was left and move it back to the house. I’m not able to lift anything or really help and it’s been hard. I just never imagined that would happen to us,” he said.

But he says the Colorado community has stepped up in a big way during these difficult times.

“They’ve been very generous in donating some clothes, blankets, kitchen items, stuff we would need,” Bautista said as he fought back tears.

He said not only have they received support from their friends who live in the area, but also from several people who they don’t know.

Even though things did not go as planned, Bautista says he remains thankful that his injuries were not worse and that his son was OK. He also said he was reminded of why his family wanted to move to Colorado in the first place.

“Just the generosity, like the way that my friends and these people have helped us,” he said. “We’re very thankful. I appreciate it very much. That’s why we’re here in Colorado.”