Tayler Slaugh will long be remembered as a young man who loved dirt biking, hunting and big diesel trucks.
“He was one of them kids who was always smiling. He was a people person,” his father Allen Slaugh said.
Tayler Slaugh passed away early Saturday morning when his truck ran off the road along Colorado Highway 64, roughly 28 miles west of Meeker in Rio Blanco County.
Friends and family from Meeker, Rangely and Craig have fond memories of the 19-year-old, who had a passion for making people laugh.
“The kid had friends from Rangely to Craig over to Utah,” his father said.
His vehicle apparently caught fire early after it rolled into an embankment early Saturday morning.
At around 4:32 a.m., Rio Blanco officials received a call about a brush fire near milepost 45 on Colorado Highway 64. A second call was received later and it was determined that a truck was on fire.
“The Rangely Fire Department responded to the scene and extinguished the fire. Upon doing so, the remains of one body were found in the cab of the vehicle,” according to a press release.
It was determined that a 1994 GMC red pickup truck was traveling eastbound on Colorado Highway 64 when it traveled off the left side of the roadway and down a steep embankment. The truck collided with an opposing embankment and subsequently caught fire, according to the release.
Identification of the driver is pending and the crash is still actively under investigation by the Rio Blanco coroner.
Although the Rio Blanco officials haven’t identified Tayler Slaugh as the individual in the truck that morning — they’re waiting on more toxicology reports — his family does believe it was their loved one. Additionally, the license plate numbers belonged to him.
“He was in Rangely visiting his friends and on the way home early in the morning. He fell asleep and ran off the road,” Allen Slaugh said of his son’s accident. He was living with his parents.
Tayler Slaugh grew up in Craig, attending Moffat County School District until his freshman year when his family moved to Meeker.
He graduated from Meeker High School in May 2014, according to Meeker High School officials.
He recently got his Commercial Drivers License and was working for Redi Services in Meeker.
Tayler Slaugh is survived by his parents Makeysha and Allen Slaugh; his sister Kurstin, 17; brothers Tanner, 16, and Tucker, 12; and his grandparents Kathy and Allen Slaugh and Kim and Frank Wagner.