Overview
- Emergency crews found the crashed vehicle on a steep Orchard Mesa hillside early Sunday morning after a 911 call and used rope teams to reach and recover five occupants who were pronounced dead at the scene.
- The Mesa County Coroner’s Office confirmed all five victims were 17-year-old boys and said autopsies found they died from injuries sustained in the crash.
- Officials reported the car was traveling southbound on Lookout Lane when it veered off the road and that three occupants were belted while two were unbelted and were ejected.
- Grand Junction police say speed is being examined as a possible factor and the multiagency investigation remains active with the fire department, search and rescue teams, and the coroner’s office involved.
- Families and local groups have publicly identified some victims and set up fundraisers even though officials are withholding minors’ names, and schools and the GJPD Victim Services Unit are providing grief support to the community.