A youth ice hockey team from Santa Clarita was involved in a deadly car crash while visiting Colorado, NBC Los Angeles learned Thursday.
The driver of the van was killed, and eight people were injured in the crash just before 9 a.m. Colorado time on Interstate 70 in Clear Creek County.
The Sprinter van carrying 10 people collided with a Colorado Department of Transportation snow plow, according to the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office. Two other vehicles also were involved in the crash on the snowy interstate west of Denver.
The van driver died at the scene.
Eight people, including five youths and three adults, were hospitalized. Details about the conditions of the injured passengers, identified by the sheriff’s department as members of a California hockey team, were not immediately available.
The president of the hockey team confirmed to NBC Los Angeles that the Santa Clarita Flyers athletes were in the van at the time of the crash.
The road was closed for the crash investigation.
Images from the crash site showed the roadway was covered with snow and mud. The weather forecast said Clear Creek County received snow showers amid below-freezing temperatures.
Emergency officials said drivers are discouraged from traveling in the area due to poor weather conditions.
The Santa Clarita Flyers’ website said the youth hockey organization is based in Valencia, playing out of The Cube Ice and Entertainment Center since being founded in 2000.