Dolores County farmer and native Stanley Daves was killed Saturday afternoon when a truck struck his tractor on U.S. Highway 491, about a mile west of Dove Creek.<\/p>\n
According to Colorado State Patrol Capt. Adam Driscoll, around 1:30 p.m. Daves, 62, was eastbound on a 1966 John Deere tractor when a 2008 Ford F-150 with Arizona plates, also traveling east, struck the left rear corner of the tractor.<\/p>\n
Driscoll said the tractor rolled over and came to a rest on top of Daves, who was pronounced dead at the scene.<\/p>\n
The truck\u2019s driver, 68-year old Justin Day of Lupton, Arizona, was arrested on suspicion of careless driving causing death. Driscoll said alcohol and excessive speed are not suspected.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe fatigue was a factor,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we don\u2019t know if he (Day) was trying to pass him (Daves) or what.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daves was born and raised in Dolores County \u2013 the third youngest child of 12 for Floyd and Glennis Daves.<\/p>\n
His sister-in-law, Margaret Daves, said Stanley lived his whole life in Dolores County, farming beans, wheat and alfalfa, and working in a uranium mine.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was always friendly, liked to tease people, joke,\u201d Daves said. \u201cIt\u2019s planting season around here, so he was moving his tractor from one field to another to plant corn.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daves said her brother-in-law with his wife, Charlotte, also ran the Dinner Bell Restaurant in Dove Creek.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was the best biscuit maker in town,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re just devastated. It\u2019s been hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ernie Williams, a Dolores County commissioner, said he was good friends with Stanley Daves.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a friend to a lot of people in the community and always helpful,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n
A memorial service for Stanley Daves is set for 10 a.m. Friday at Dove Creek High School.<\/p>\n