According to Colorado State Patrol Master Trooper Doug Wiersma, toxicology tests show that the victim — Jason Metz, 36, of Pagosa Springs — had alcohol in his system, along with a “considerably high level of drugs” at the time of the incident, which took place in the early morning hours of Oct. 17.
According to Wiersma of the CSP and Trooper Jonathan Silver, Metz left the Bear Creek in downtown Pagosa Springs at approximately 12:44 a.m. that morning.
He was found deceased, lying in the eastbound lane of U.S. 160 near Trails Boulevard at about 1:06 a.m.
“What happened between the time he left the bar and the time he was found deceased remains a mystery, despite many rumors and theories that currently abound,” Wiersma wrote in an email update to The SUN in the weeks following the incident.
At that time, Wiersma reported that Metz’s injuries were not consistent with someone who was struck while walking on the roadway — a fact the toxicology results back up.
“Rather,” Wiersma wrote at the time, “the mechanism of injury shows that he was lying down when he was run over by a passing vehicle.”
Following receipt of the toxicology results, Wiersma wrote in an email to SUN staff, “All the evidence we have still strongly suggests that he was lying in the roadway before he was struck by a passing vehicle.”
The vehicle involved has still not been identified and the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
CSP is asking anyone with information to contact the Durango CSP office at 385-1675.
