Drivers cope with Monument Hill on New Year’s Eve

Monument Hill is a common trouble spot during a winter storm but most drivers handled it well Monday — with a few exceptions.

Despite single-digit temperatures, strong winds that blew snow sideways, slick pavement and reduced visibility, crashes were surprisingly few.

Brandon Crockett, a driver, said he was caught in a multi-vehicle crash on southbound Interstate 25 in Monument.

“I came down from Denver to help my uncle,” Crockett said. “A car stopped suddenly in front of me and I swerved but still hit it, then another car hit me. I’m glad no one was hurt. It was actually kind of exhilarating, you know?”

Crockett, 21, said it’s the first crash he’s ever experienced.

The biggest challenge most drivers faced was keeping their windshields clean, stopping to either purchase wiper fluid or refill fluid reservoirs.

But that didn’t solve the problem in at least one instance.

“I have fluid in my reservoir but it won’t come out,” said Ron Garcia, a driver. “I’m not sure if it’s frozen or not. I tried sticking a toothpick into the hose spout to clear it but that didn’t work, either.

A tow truck driver said he’d been busy since 7 a.m., responding to at least a dozen drivers who had slid or skidded off the road and damaged their vehicles.

Brad Bauer, a supervisor with the Colorado Department of Transportation, said there were no serious issues as plows and de-icer trucks kept roads clear and sand trucks applied traction where needed.

Some drivers said they didn’t mind coping with the weather as long as it didn’t ruin their plans to ring in the New Year.