Woodward dies in crash

GRAND JUNCTION — Linda Woodward, 73, of La Jara was killed Sunday afternoon in a fiery crash on I-70 near Grand Junction.

Woodward was heading west in a white Ford F-150 truck when she reportedly crossed the median into oncoming traffic and crashed into a black 2500 Chevy, driven by Billy Steele, 33, of Meeker, who also died in the crash, according to a report from KKCO news. A passenger in his vehicle was injured and transported to the hospital.

The Mesa County coroner told KKCO that Woodward and Steele died from multiple blunt force injuries after their two trucks crashed on Sunday.

The coroner said both drivers were wearing their seatbelts.

The crash is still under investigation.

During the investigation, two Grand Junction Police Department vehicles were hit by a pickup truck that was traveling in the westbound lanes. The fire department said one officer was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, while the second officer and the pickup truck driver were treated on scene.

According to the KKCO report, three dogs and one cat that were in the vehicles at the time of the crash also died.

I-70 was shut down for the better part of Sunday night and was reopened by Monday morning.