A downtown Bethesda bicycle shop mechanic and his wife died following a late December vehicle crash while on vacation in Colorado, according to Fraser Winter Park police Chief Glen Trainor, whose department is investigating the crash.
The Bethesda couple, Williams Herrera Ortega, 29, a mechanic at Terrapin Bicycles at 4933 Auburn. Ave., and his wife, Sofia Rincon, 29, were visiting family in Colorado when the Dec. 26 crash occurred, Trainor told Bethesda Today on Thursday morning.
According to Trainor, Ortega was pronounced dead at the scene and Rincon died Jan. 4 at a Denver hospital after suffering critical injuries in the crash. The crash occurred about 70 miles away from Denver.
A GoFundMe was set up for the couple to help their families with funeral expenses and to “honor their life with a meaningful tribute,” according to the fundraiser page. As of Thursday morning, the fundraiser has raised more than $3,000 of its $7,000 goal.
“Every contribution will help ease this burden and ensure Will and Sonia are remembered as they [deserved]” the fundraiser said.
Kevin, the owner of Terrapin Bicycles who did not want to include his last name, told Bethesda Today that Ortega was from Ecuador and an “extremely nice person” who loved to go mountain biking.
“He was great at riding mountain bikes. He would really be able to take big risks and do pretty amazing stuff on his bike,” Kevin said. “It’s a sad tragedy. Him and his wife were young.”
Kevin said Ortega especially loved to ride in the Frederick City Watershed, where there is “pretty aggressive mountain bike riding.”
The bike shop also announced Ortega and Rincon’s death on its social media pages and said the shop was “devastated.”
According to a press release from the Fraser Winter Park Police Department, the crash was reported around 9:25 a.m. Dec. 26 on Highway 40 in the town of Fraser. Trainor told Bethesda Today the crash resulted in a large response from the department, the Grand County Sheriff’s Office and Colorado State Patrol as well as fire and emergency medical services crews.
An investigation into the crash revealed that a 2024 Peterbilt semitruck/tractor combination driven by a 34-year-old Colorado man collided with a 2021 Toyota Tundra pickup carrying Ortega and Rincon that had lost control, the release said.
“The Tundra lost traction on the icy roads and rotated counterclockwise in the westbound lane, causing the front of the Peterbilt to collide with the passenger side of the Tundra,” the release said. “The Tundra continued off the roadway and came to a rest approximately 30 feet from the edge of the westbound lane.”
According to Trainor, Ortega and Rincon were passengers in Toyota Tundra along with family members of Rincon.
Ortega was pronounced dead at the scene and the four other passengers in the car, including Rincon, were transported to local hospitals, the release said. The driver of the semi-truck was also injured, according to Trainor, and had “fairly significant injuries” but was released from the hospital about a day later.
Trainor said the investigation into the crash is ongoing and the police department would forward its findings to the Colorado 14th Judicial District Attorney’s Office for determination of charges.
