Two drivers, pedestrian killed in I-25 crash identified

(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 wrong-way crash on I-25 in the early morning hours of Sunday, May 26.

Officers originally responded around 4:45 a.m. on Sunday to the northbound lanes of I-25 at the MLK Bypass after a report was received of a head-on crash due to a wrong-way driver heading southbound in the northbound lanes.

The investigation revealed that the car heading southbound, a Kia Sportage, hit a Volkswagen that had been heading north head-on.

Following the crash, a good Samaritan stopped to help, and after getting out of his car, he was hit by another northbound car. Emergency responders arrived on scene and attempted life-saving measures, however, one driver and the pedestrian were declared dead on scene. The second driver was taken to the hospital where they died of their 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 was identified as 64-year-old Joel Frank Montalvo.

CSPD said the crash remains under investigation, though 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.

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