Motorist dies in Saturday night crash on Highway 82

A motorist zipping around a corner westbound on Highway 82 last night was pronounced dead at the scene after he crashed his SUV into a median, flipped and was ejected.

William Loflin, 31, was likely driving too fast, a Colorado State Patrol trooper said Sunday, and alcohol also may have been a factor.

Dubbed the Wildcat Crash Incident, the wreck was reported to authorities at 11:46 p.m. Saturday. When they responded, they found Loflin — the SUV's lone occupant — lying in the median with severe trauma. He was not breathing. The SUV was over in the right lane.

“The vehicle was going around a corner up there in the Snowmass Canyon area and failed to negotiate that corner, it over-corrected, hit the left side of the median, and at that point in time it looks like the vehicle tried to get back on the road but wasn't successful,” the trooper said.

The focus of the Colorado State Patrol's investigation is on determining the speed of the vehicle and whether Loflin was under the influence of alcohol.

Highway 82 was closed in both directions for about 80 minutes before one lane reopened at about 1:20 a.m. The highway was fully reopened just before 3 a.m. Sunday.

Pitkin County sheriff's deputies, Aspen police, Aspen volunteer firefighters, and an ambulance all responded to the incident.

River Name / Location	Stream flow, ft3/s	Gage height ft
Gore Creek
At Upper Station, Near I-70 Twin Bridges	n/a	4 ft
Booth Creek	n/a	4 ft
Abv Red Sandstone Creek At Vail	182	6 ft
At Mouth Near Minturn	217	7 ft
Beaver Creek
At Avon	21	2 ft
Lake Creek
Near Edwards	80	1 ft
Cross Creek
Near Minturn	104	4 ft
Homestake Creek
At Gold Park	121	5 ft
Eagle River
East Fork Eagle River Near Climax	n/a	2 ft
At Red Cliff	30	3 ft
Near Minturn	237	4 ft
Wastewater Treatment Plant At Avon	675	5 ft
Below Gypsum	853	5 ft
Colorado River
Near Kremmling	407	4 ft
Near Dotsero	1,630	3 ft
Below Glenwood Springs	3,180	5 ft
Near Cameo	3,760	6 ft
Below Grand Valley Div Nr Palisade	2,080	5 ft
Near Colorado-utah State Line	4,120	4 ft
Near Cisco, Ut	4,020	3 ft
At Lees Ferry, Az	12,000	9 ft
Near Grand Canyon, Az	12,300	9 ft
Yuma Main Canal Ww At Yuma, Az	1,010	10 ft
Roaring Fork River
Abv Lost Man Cr Near Aspen	n/a	n/a ft
Ab Difficult C Nr Aspen	52	1 ft
Near Aspen	78	1 ft
Near Emma	480	6 ft
At Glenwood Springs	1,180	3 ft
Hunter Creek
Near Aspen	56	2 ft
At Aspen	48	4 ft
Frying Pan River
Near Ruedi	113	2 ft
Crystal River
Abv Avalanche Crk, Near Redstone	540	2 ft
Arkansas River
Ef Arkansas R At Us Highway 24, Nr Leadville	47	3 ft
Near Leadville	86	5 ft
Below Empire Gulch Near Malta	159	4 ft
Below Granite	429	4 ft
Near Nathrop	451	4 ft
At Parkdale	464	3 ft