Victims of fatal head-on crash identified; survivor suffers multiple injuries
The El Paso County Coroner’s Office has released the names of two motorists who died in a head-on collision on Monday.
Francine Shumake, 53, and Brenda Freshour (aka Baker), 61, were both killed when their vehicle, heading south on Marksheffel near Peterson Space Force Base, drifted into the northbound lane and struck a vehicle, according to Colorado Springs police.
The occupants of the other vehicle were taken to a hospital with injuries that were deemed to be life-threatening, officials said. One of the surviving motorists was Crystal Hoover, 50, according to her sister, Mindy Rhodes.
Hoover, an Uber driver living in Fountain, was transporting a passenger when the other vehicle crashed into her, Rhodes said.
“People from another vehicle came over to help,” said Rhodes, who spoke with her sister on the phone before Hoover went in for reconstructive surgery on her right leg. “They got her and the passenger out of the vehicle before it caught fire.”
Hoover did not know the condition of her passenger, Rhodes said.
“Her purse and her phone were in her car, and the car is now in police custody, so we don’t even know (the passenger’s name),” she said.
Hoover suffered multiple injuries from the crash, including a crushed lower leg, a broken kneecap and “bruises up and down her body,” Rhodes said.
“Overall, we consider her to be very lucky,” she said.
Surgeons were able to repair the leg, which is braced with an external fixator, an outside frame attached to the bone with metal pins to keep the pieces in place while they mend. A second, internal surgery is scheduled for Monday, according to Rhodes.
With months of physical therapy in her future, it is not yet known when Hoover will be able to walk or drive. Rhodes established a GoFundMe on her sister’s behalf — something she is certain the mother of three would never have done for herself.
“She is a very giving person,” Rhodes said. “Almost everyone in the family has stayed with her at one time or another while they got back on their feet. She’s always trying to help other people, and I know she wouldn’t ask for help in this situation. But she needs it, and we’re going to try to give it to her.”