A truck driver from El Salvador with a suspended license was jailed without bail this morning (Thursday) on three felonies in connection with Monday’s horrific fatal head-on collision between a tractor-trailer and a U-Haul truck on I-70.

Boone County prosecutors have charged 26-year-old Walter Montejo with two counts of manslaughter and second-degree aggravated assault, as well as driving while suspended.

A court document from the Boone County District Attorney’s Office states that Montejo is in the United States “temporarily on a work visa.” The two-page court document describes Montejo as a flight risk because he has no known ties to Boone County.

According to CPD investigators, the two fatalities were in the rented U-Haul truck. Columbia police said the U-Haul driver, 54-year-old Cindy Helms of Tennessee, was pronounced dead at a local hospital. CPD identified the U-Haul passenger as 84-year-old Melvina Colin of Colorado, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Columbia Police Department’s two-page statement of probable cause cites witnesses driving behind the semi and a BMW before the crash saying the Freightliner was in the passing lane and the BMW was in the travel lane. Court documents cite drivers behind the crash saying the semi “went into the travel lane and hit the BMW” and the Freightliner was traveling at a high rate of speed before the crash. After the collision, the Freightliner crossed the median and struck several vehicles, including the U-Haul, according to court documents.

Monday’s crash closed much of I-70 near the Business Loop exit for hours. CPD says its investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call Columbia Crimestoppers at (573) 875-TIPS.