It was supposed to be a reunion trip to Colorado, but that all came to a devastating halt for Ian Hughes' family, following a crash that killed his grandfather and injured several others.

"In seconds, it was mayhem," he said. 

Hughes, his brother, father, and grandfather all arrived at Denver International Airport late Saturday night and took a shuttle bus to pick up a rental car. Hughes says the family was visiting from Oregon, and it was an opportunity for his grandfather to show the family around places he used to enjoy visiting. 

"We're taking this turn. I have my back to the truck that is oncoming, so I didn't see it at first," Hughes said.

As the shuttle was turning left at the intersection at East 81st Avenue and Tower Road, Hughes says a pickup truck driving at a high speed crashed into them.

"They hit us on the back corner and we spun all the way around," he said. "Glass, things are flashing, people are flying everywhere."

Hughes says his family members were among eight people aboard the shuttle bus, including the driver, when the crash happened.  He says a couple and his father were ejected from the bus.

"He was breathing -- bleeding very badly -- but breathing and sort of alert," he said. 

His brother was seriously injured.

"He had a large gash on his bicep, as well as his tibia, fibula was actually fractured and sticking through his leg, so we carried him out," he said. 

However, his grandfather, 77-year-old John Hughes, died at the scene.

"I'm sad, I'm angry, I feel that he was ripped from us too soon," he said. 

John Hughes was a U.S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam and had already overcome cancer. To Ian Hughes, he was someone he looked up to and who had so much more life to live.

"He stood on morals and doing the right thing, and being a good person," Ian said. 

While he's grateful he didn't get seriously injured, Ian is now grappling with the pain of losing his grandfather at the same time he's visiting his father in the ICU.

 "He's slowly making progress, but it's slow. He hit his head really hard. I'm sure he has a very large concussion," Ian said. 

His brother is also hospitalized, but remains in good spirits. 

"He got through his first surgery today. I believe he's going to be doing a second one at some point," he said. 

Commerce City police say they're still investigating the cause of this crash. 

 "This has a multi-layered effect on everyone," Ian said. 

It has a lasting effect on his family and the others aboard that bus that he thinks could have been prevented. 

"All it takes is one little slip and you're taking someone's life," he said. "It's a rude awakening, but I hope it's an awakening and people see that this is something that can't happen."

He says his family is grateful for all the support they have received from the Colorado community since the crash and the people who stepped up at the scene to help the victims.