12-year-old trapped, killed after truck falls into Colorado river

A 12-year-old boy was killed, and two others were injured when a truck they were riding in went off the road and fell into a river in Colorado's Rocky Mountains, west of Denver.

The Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office, in a news release Sunday, said deputies with the department responded to reports of a motor vehicle accident around 9:00 p.m. Saturday.

When they arrived at the scene, they found a "truck submerged" in the Clear Creek River, with "several occupants outside the vehicle needing assistance".

Among them were two women with "facial lacerations and a male running up the embankment screaming for help."

Deceased trapped underwater

As an investigation ensued, deputies discovered that there was a fourth victim, too: a 12-year-old boy, who was trapped in the submerged vehicle.

Rescuers and a good Samaritan jumped into the river to retrieve the young boy but were met with several challenges as the boy was "trapped between a boulder and the vehicle."

"Deputies were able to lift the vehicle enough for an officer to extract the victim," said the sheriff's office.

However, despite resuscitation efforts, they were unable to save the 12-year-old boy, who was pronounced deceased upon arrival at a local hospital.

Neither the deceased nor others involved in the accident were identified and the authorities also did not specify the relationship between them. The sheriff's office also did not provide an update on the injuries of the other three involved in the accident or how the vehicle ended up in the river.

"The Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office offers our deepest condolences to the grieving family during this very difficult time," the sheriff's office said.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.