The Colorado State Patrol completed its investigation into an Oct. 6 single-vehicle crash that killed a Summit High School student. It concluded that the driver drove up an embankment too fast and lost control.

John Fiedelman, 17, died in the crash and was driving the Jeep Wrangler with three passengers. The report stated Fiedelman was intentionally driving up embankments to take banked turns while driving westbound on Gold Run Road outside Breckenridge. 

Fiedelman lost control of the car on a banked left turn, the report stated, and the Jeep ran across the road and hit an embankment on the other side. The collision caused the car to roll over and come to rest on its driver’s side. Law enforcement received a call about the crash around 5:10 p.m.

According to the report, Fiedelman was not wearing a seatbelt and was partially ejected. He was pinned under the vehicle, which resulted in his death, and he was pronounced dead on scene, the report stated.

The three passengers were 15, 16 and 18 years old and all went to the hospital with minor to moderate injuries. 

According to two passengers’ statements in the report, Fiedelman and one of the passengers were pinned under the Jeep after the crash. The other two used a log as a lever to lift the Jeep up enough for the trapped passenger to get out from underneath, but not enough to free Fiedelman.

The passenger in the front seat had his seatbelt on, but the other three people in the car did not, according to the report. State Patrol calculated that the vehicle’s initial speed going into the first embankment was 32-37 mph, the report stated.

State Patrol’s inspection of the Jeep found “no obvious mechanical defects” that contributed to the crash, the report stated.

An email sent by Summit School District superintendent Tony Byrd on Oct. 7 to district families stated Fiedelman was a senior at Summit High School and had attended Upper Blue Elementary from 2011 to 2014 before moving to Park County. He moved back to Summit County at the start of the 2024-2025 school year, according to the email.

The school district provided resources like counselors, school psychologists and other support staff to students in the days following the crash, according to district emails.An obituary for Fiedelman stated he played basketball and participated in the jazz and concert bands at South Park High School before moving back to Summit County. At Summit High School, he tutored younger musicians, was an honor roll student and looked forward to attending college, the obituary stated.