Police dashcam captures moment child is ejected from truck during crash
Dashcam video from Gwinnett County Police captured a devastating three-vehicle crash on May 23, including the stunning moment a 7-year-old boy was thrown from a truck and landed on a police cruiser. Officer Arianna James, who saw the collision unfold, said she immediately rushed to help the child, offering comfort as he worried his father might leave him behind. The frightening scene serves as a powerful reminder of how critical proper child passenger safety can be.
In Colorado, five 17-year-old friends were killed after their vehicle went off a cliff and tumbled down a steep hillside, a tragedy that has left families and the Grand Junction community mourning as the new school year gets underway.
Authorities said the five boys, all from Grand Junction, were traveling on Lookout Lane late Saturday when their vehicle left the road and plunged down the sharp incline.
According to the Mesa County Coroner’s Office, three of the teens — including the driver and the front-seat passenger — were wearing seat belts. The other two were unrestrained and were ejected from the vehicle during the crash.
Grand Junction police officers and firefighters responded to the area near Lookout Lane after a vehicle went down a steep hillside, killing five 17-year-old boys. (Grand Junction Police Department)
Officials said all five teenagers died from injuries suffered in the wreck.
The crash was not reported to authorities until about 7:45 a.m. Sunday, when 911 dispatchers received a call indicating that a vehicle may have gone over the edge of a cliff, the Grand Junction Police Department said.
Responding police and fire crews later located the heavily damaged vehicle on the hillside.
Speed is being investigated as a possible factor, police said. Authorities have not publicly identified the driver or said what caused the vehicle to leave the roadway.
First responders work along the steep hillside near Lookout Lane following a crash that killed five 17-year-old boys in Grand Junction, Colorado. (Grand Junction Police Department)
The coroner’s office said it would not release the teenagers’ names because of its policy against publicly identifying minors.
Though the teens have been identified by families and loved ones as those in the Grand Junction community share memories and rally around those left behind.
One of the victims was Braden Taylor, 17, whose grandfather, Calvin Wilken, confirmed his death in an emotional Facebook post obtained by News Outlet.
“Very sad news our youngest grandson Braden 17 died in a car rollover down 5 ledges of a very steep drop off over looking the railroad tracks and the Gunnison River,” Wilken wrote.
“He was a passenger with 4 of his buddies, all deceased,” he added.
Wilken said the crash occurred just blocks from the family’s former home in a ridge-top development above the area.
A GoFundMe established for Braden’s parents said the teenager was their youngest son and that the family is now confronting unexpected funeral expenses while trying to process his death.
“Wade and Michelle are now facing the unimaginable pain of losing their youngest son while also carrying the weight of sudden funeral expenses,” the fundraiser said.
The scale of the loss has rippled across Grand Junction.
Modern Classic Motors, a local business, shared verified donation links for all five families and said the tragedy was weighing particularly heavily on the community as students returned to school.
“Our hearts are broken for the five young lives tragically lost over the weekend and for their family and friends who are left with this unimaginable loss,” the business wrote on Facebook.
“As the new school year kicks off today, we can only imagine the heaviness and sadness that is being felt throughout our schools today,” the post continued.
The four other teenagers were identified by loved ones as Tristan Tucker, Titus Gould, William Simms and Tyler Martinez, according to the Daily Mail.
Tucker had been preparing to begin his senior year of high school, get his driver’s license and experience the milestones that come with being 17, according to a fundraiser for his family cited by the outlet.
He was remembered as being “full of life, potential, and a free spirit.”
A Meal Train was also established to support Gould’s family following his death, according to the Daily Mail.
Martinez’s grandmother, Debbie Gallegos Martinez, publicly mourned her grandson after the crash.
Grand Junction police officers investigate the steep hillside near Lookout Lane where five 17-year-old boys were killed after their vehicle left the roadway in Grand Junction, Colorado. (Grand Junction Police Department)
“With a heavy heart and tears rolling down my cheek my grandson was one of this [sic] boys,” she wrote, according to the outlet.
Another family member asked people to keep all five families in their prayers, calling the tragedy “devastating and heartbreaking.”
The Grand Junction Police Department also issued an emotional message.
“Our hearts are heavy following the tragic losses this weekend,” the department wrote. “You’re our neighbors, our friends, and our family.”
“We grieve alongside our community and stand together to support one another.”
