Ex-Boulder mayor involved in wreck
Investigators say Greenlee triggered the five-vehicle crash.
The children of the former Boulder mayor who investigators say triggered a five-vehicle wreck Wednesday on La Veta Pass expressed sympathies Friday to the loved ones of the woman killed in the crash.
Robert “Bob” Greenlee — a prominent Colorado Republican and businessman — and his wife, Diane, were injured in the wreck on U.S. 160 that killed 70-year-old Patricia Lucero.
The Colorado State Patrol says Greenlee was driving a 2003 Cadillac Escalade westbound on the highway when he went into oncoming traffic to pass a vehicle and struck Lucero’s 2010 Toyota Camry. That collision set off a chain of crashes that ultimately involved three other vehicles and left several others hurt, closing the highway for several hours, according to investigators.
“On behalf of our parents and families, we would like to express our deepest sympathies to the loved ones of … Pat Lucero, who lost her life in this tragic accident,” AnneMarie Kemp, Greenlee’s daughter, said in a statement to the Daily Camera on Friday. “We understand she was a beloved member of her community and will be terribly missed by all who knew and loved her.”
Kemp, who also wrote on behalf of her brother Rob Greenlee, wrote that family members would not answer any questions or release any additional statements because of the “ongoing investigation and injuries sustained by our parents.”
Greenlee, 75, of Lafayette, was driving the Escalade that apparently instigated the wreck on La Veta Pass at about 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, the Colorado State Patrol says.
After hitting Lucero’s Camry, authorities say the Toyota then hit a tractortrailer before crossing into the highway’s westbound lanes and striking a 2006 Kia Spectra, authorities say. The Escalade continued westbound and hit an eastbound BMW X5 head-on, causing the BMW to roll onto its side, according to investigators.
The Escalade came to rest on its wheels.
The State Patrol says speed is believed to be a contributing factor in the wreck, which remains under investigation. No charges have been filed.
The Alamosa Courier reports Lucero was an Alamosa County employee who was heavily involved in her community.
Greenlee was Boulder’s mayor for a two-year stint in the late 1990s and also served on the City Council. He lost a tight bid for a U.S. House of Representatives seat to Democrat Mark Udall in 1998 that at the time was closest U.S. House race in the state’s history.
He has since become a columnist for the Daily Camera in addition to his philanthropic endeavors. In the business realm, the Iowa State graduate and his wife founded Boulder’s KBCO radio station and he also co-founded Rock Bottom Restaurants.