Inset, from left: Andrea Banuelos-Salazar; her son, Manuel Cabral-Banuelos; her husband, Manuel Cabral-Torres, holding their youngest son, Andres Cabral-Banuelos; and their daughter, Maria Cabral-Banuelos (GoFundMe). Background: The Grand County, Colorado, crash site where a Ford F-150 driver struck the family, killing all five members (Google Maps).
A Colorado driver in a Ford F-150 crossed into oncoming traffic and traveled the wrong way for “hundreds of feet” before slamming into a family’s SUV, police say. Witnesses reported that the driver appeared to be “asleep or passed out” moments before the fatal collision.
Samuel Conger, 26, faces five counts of criminally negligent homicide in connection with the August 2025 crash on Highway 9, south of Kremmling. The victims were Manuel Cabral-Torres, 34; his wife, Andrea Banuelos-Salazar, 30; and their children, Maria Cabral-Banuelos, 12, Manuel Cabral-Banuelos, 5, and Andres Cabral-Banuelos, 2.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, Conger was driving as fast as 86 mph when he veered into the opposing lane and struck the family’s GMC Yukon without braking. One witness told Colorado State Patrol that Conger’s “head was down, appearing asleep or passed out.” Another motorist said Conger’s truck drifted into his lane as he traveled south, forcing him to swerve to avoid a crash.
The affidavit states that the motorist later saw Conger’s truck in his rearview mirror as it “collide[d] head-on with [the family’s] SUV.” Additional witnesses described seeing the Ford F-150 enter the southbound lane and hit the Yukon head-on.
Police said Conger was behind the wheel of a 2024 Ford F-150 when he crossed into the southbound lane near milepost 135.9. The pickup struck the family’s maroon 2010 GMC Yukon head-on, sending both vehicles spinning around the crash site before they caught fire.
Police removed Mr. Cabral-Torres from the Yukon, the affidavit says. The vehicle was then fully engulfed in flames, preventing rescuers from extricating the other four passengers.
MORE ON THIS: Megan Fox Reportedly Unbothered by Machine Gun Kelly Dating Dakota Johnson
Bystanders helped Conger escape from the pickup. He was transported by ambulance to Kremmling McElroy Airport and flown to St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood with serious injuries, according to the affidavit.
Investigators estimated the truck’s speed using drone photographs, damage to the vehicles, witness statements and a reconstruction based on momentum. Their analysis placed Conger’s speed between 78 and 86 mph in a zone with a 65 mph limit. The affidavit says he remained in the oncoming lane for “hundreds of feet.” Investigators found no physical evidence or witness testimony showing that he braked or took evasive action before hitting the Yukon.
The affidavit characterizes that conduct as “a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise.”
Investigators also sought data from the vehicles’ electronic data recorders, which may show how a vehicle was operating before a crash. However, the intense fire damage prevented them from completing the examinations or recovering usable information. Investigators found what they believed were the recorders from both vehicles, but those devices were heavily damaged as well.
Conger has been charged with five counts of criminally negligent homicide—one for each family member who died.
The report Family of 5 was cruising down highway together when a ‘passed out’ Ford F-150 driver came out of nowhere: Police was first published by Law & Crime.
