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Evan Brown, 18, had a habit of asking those older than him for pieces of wisdom.

The teenager who came to Steamboat Springs six months ago would then jot the words down in his thick journal.

"He was always curious on the meaning of life," said John Bitume, Brown's boss at the Gobi Grill. "That was a very unique quality about him that will always stay with me."

The last piece of wisdom Bitume told Brown was how to stay awake while making the long cross-country drive to California. Bitume advised him to stop and take five-minute walks.

Brown never made it past Moffat County. At 2 a.m. Wednesday, Brown was traveling north on Colorado Highway 13 in his 2000 Ford Excursion when he veered left and rolled 2 1/4 times off the road, according to the Colorado State Patrol. The vehicle landed more than 100 feet off the road and down an embankment.

The accident 30 miles north of Craig was reported almost three hours later when a truck driver noticed skid marks from the accident. Brown, who was wearing a seat belt, died from internal injuries before anyone arrived on scene, the State Patrol reported.

Brown was the only person in the vehicle at the time of the accident. As in all fatal accidents, drug and alcohol tests are being conducted.

State Patrol Sgt. Gary Meirose said the accident looks as though it could have been caused by a lack of sleep or Brown getting distracted and taking his eyes off the road.

Brown typically was mature for his age, Bitume said. The 6-foot-5 slender teenager, who worked mostly behind the counter at Gobi Grill and occasionally at the adjacent Azteca Taqueria, came to Steamboat for the skiing and the outdoors. He was from Grass Valley, Calif.

Brown was interested in old and new music, was a runner and loved to read, Bitume said.

"We are all heart-broken," Bitume said.