'Curve Ahead' Signs Discarded Where Teen Drove Off Road, Died
FORT MORGAN, Colo. (CBS4) -- Sixteen-year-old Danny Narvaez, the starting running back for Fort Morgan High School's football team last fall, was killed in a rollover accident last weekend.
First responders arrived at Morgan County Road W just east of Morgan County Road 19.5 late Sunday afternoon.
Narvaez's Ford F-150 pickup was found in the water of a canal running adjacent to a curve. It had drifted downstream a short distance and was partially submerged, according to Rob Madden of the Colorado State Patrol.
Narvaez's body was found outside the vehicle, apparently ejected after it rolled but before the truck went into the canal. He was pronounced at the scene.
A county roads supervisor found two 'Curve Ahead' signs lying in the weeds near the crash scene, apparently pulled from the ground and discarded prior to the crash, the Morgan County Sheriff's Office wrote in a Facebook post.
"These signs were not blown over by recent winds," MCSO stated in the post. "A similar incident occurred a number of years ago where a young man was killed in a crash southwest of Fort Morgan after a warning sign was either stolen or removed from the side of the road."
"The persons responsible for these acts," the post continued, "could have some criminal culpability in this accident."
Navraez was not wearing his seat belt, CSP's Madden said, and excessive speed may have contributed to the crash.
Navraez was the Mustangs' leading rusher last fall as a sophomore running back, per an article in the Fort Morgan Times. He also played on the baseball team.
