Five Grand Junction teenagers killed after vehicle plunges off Colorado cliff
A vehicle carrying five 17-year-old friends plunged off a cliff on Lookout Lane in Grand Junction, Colorado, late Saturday and went down a steep hillside, killing all five occupants. The Grand Junction Police Department said authorities were not alerted until approximately 7:45 a.m. Sunday, when 911 dispatchers received a report that a vehicle may have gone over the edge. Speed is being investigated as a possible factor.
Key takeaways
- Five 17-year-old friends were killed when their vehicle plunged off a cliff on Lookout Lane in Grand Junction, Colorado, late Saturday and went down a steep hillside.
- Authorities were not alerted until about 7:45 a.m. Sunday, when 911 dispatchers received a report that a vehicle may have gone over the edge.
- Three of the five boys, including the driver and front-seat passenger, were wearing seat belts, while the other two were unbuckled and ejected from the vehicle.
- Speed is being investigated as a possible factor, and authorities have not publicly identified the driver or the cause of the crash.
- Community members identified the victims as Braden Taylor, Tristan Tucker, Titus Gould, William Simms, and Tyler Martinez, all 17.
A vehicle carrying five 17-year-old friends plunged off a cliff on Lookout Lane in Grand Junction, Colorado, late Saturday and went down a steep hillside, killing all five occupants. The Grand Junction Police Department said authorities were not alerted until approximately 7:45 a.m. Sunday, when 911 dispatchers received a report that a vehicle may have gone over the edge. Speed is being investigated as a possible factor.
What investigators have confirmed
The Mesa County Coroner's Office said three of the five boys were wearing seat belts, including the driver and the front-seat passenger. The other two were not buckled in and were ejected from the vehicle. All five died from injuries sustained in the crash. Authorities have not publicly identified the driver or stated what caused the vehicle to leave the roadway. The coroner declined to release the teenagers' names, citing its policy against publicly identifying minors.
The five boys
Families and community members identified the victims as Braden Taylor, Tristan Tucker, Titus Gould, William Simms, and Tyler Martinez, all 17. Taylor's grandfather, Calvin Wilken, confirmed his grandson's death in a Facebook post, describing the crash as a rollover down "5 ledges of a very steep drop off over looking the railroad tracks and the Gunnison River." Tucker had been preparing to start his senior year of high school and to get his driver's license; a fundraiser cited by the Daily Mail remembered him as "full of life, potential, and a free spirit." Tyler Martinez's grandmother, Debbie Gallegos Martinez, publicly mourned her grandson after the crash. A Meal Train was established for Gould's family, and a GoFundMe was set up for Taylor's parents, Wade and Michelle, to help with unexpected funeral expenses.
Community response at the start of the school year
The crash occurred as students in Grand Junction were returning for a new school year, compounding the weight of the loss. Modern Classic Motors, a local business, posted verified donation links for all five families and said the tragedy was hitting the community especially hard as the school year began. The Grand Junction Police Department, in a public statement, called the victims "our neighbors, our friends, and our family" and said the department was grieving alongside the community.
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Filed by the newsroom of MarketPR on August 12, 2026. Source: foxnews.com. Indicative figures are not investment advice.