ALAMOSA — An accident involving a “near head-on collision” between a 2018 Chevrolet Cruze and a pick-up truck on Highway 285 claimed the lives of two people on Monday afternoon.

The accident occurred at mile post 66.5 on Highway 285, just a few miles north of where 285 intersects with Highway 112.

According to Capt. Nathan Lyons with the Colorado State Patrol, at 3:49 p.m. on Monday afternoon, a 37-year-old woman was travelling with four passengers in a Chevrolet Cruze headed northbound on Highway 285 when she traveled into the southbound lane, colliding with a pick-up truck being driven by a 72-year-old man from Saguache. The pick-up truck was hauling a gooseneck trailer.

Lyons says the car “didn’t quite hit the truck head on, it was more of a sideswipe.” The collision resulted in the deaths of two of the five people in the Cruze. All five people were wearing their seat belts.

Following the accident, the driver of the Cruze, identified as Becky Thompson, 37, of Phoenix, Ariz., was transported to Rio Grande Hospital where she was pronounced deceased. A 15-year-old boy, who was sitting in the back seat behind Thompson, was pronounced deceased at the scene. His identity is not being released.

The remaining three passengers — including Thompson’s fiancé and two other children — were also transported to the local hospital where it was determined that Thompson’s fiancé sustained serious injuries while the two remaining children did not.

The driver of the pick-up truck, identified as Timothy Skadberg, was uninjured in the collision.

Alcohol or drugs were not a factor in the accident, and it was believed that the Cruze driver drifted off to sleep. Lyons says the five people in the Cruze were traveling to Denver to visit the children’s grandmother.

“The Colorado State Patrol wants to express our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the two people who died in this accident,” Lyons told the Valley Courier. “It’s also important to note that all the occupants were seat belted. As tragic as this accident was, it could have been so much worse if people had not been wearing their seatbelts.”

Lyons further emphasized that driving while feeling tired is truly as dangerous as driving while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.

“If you’re feeling sleepy, no matter what time of day it is, you need to pull over and rest until you feel refreshed and ready to drive,” Lyons says.