Towing of hail-damaged vehicles from Cheyenne Mountain Zoo begins

Towing more than 400 vehicles damaged by hail at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs is a long, involved process that could take several says.

The process began Monday evening after the road to the zoo reopened following a severe hailstorm, and intensified Tuesday as more drivers came to retrieve their damaged vehicles.

Colorado Springs police manned a checkpoint at the zoo entrance and said the damaged vehicles can only be towed from the parking lot — a decision that disappointed many drivers who formed a long line on the road, hoping to be able to drive their vehicles from the zoo.

However, later in the day with another round of storms threatening, police allowed some of the least-damaged vehicles to be driven.

Police also allowed vehicle owners to walk to the lot and retrieve belongings left inside.

“I’m glad they did that,” said Archie Cloud, a visitor from Kit Carson, Colorado. “At first, they said we couldn’t even walk to our vehicles until the tow trucks arrived. Some people are here on vacation and have all their stuff in their vehicles.”

Daisy Barnard, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, gave up waiting for a tow truck after several hours.

“I have to take my daughter to Denver for surgery,” she said. “I’ll come back in a few days and hope something can be done. My insurance company told me it could take as long as three days for a tow truck to be available. There are no rental cars, either.”

Many of the affected drivers, who are vacationing from other states, said they have no transportation for the remainder of their visits, and are uncertain about how they’ll return home.

“It’s frustrating but what can you do?” Cloud said.