Driver in District 20 plow truck dies after crash on icy Colorado Springs road

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - A driver in a School District 20 plow truck is dead after a crash on an icy road in northern Colorado Springs.

The Colorado State Patrol responded to the crash. Troopers were called to Gleneagle Dr. and Candlewood Ct. around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.

When they arrived, they discovered that a pickup truck-style plow was headed westbound on Gleneagle when the driver lost control, hit a curb, and went into a ditch.

When the driver went into the ditch, a sand hopper on the back of the truck went into the cab and hit the driver in the head.

District 20 in Colorado Springs confirmed that it was one of their trucks in the crash. The driver was identified as Stephen Houston, 27, of Colorado Springs.

Houston was taken to a hospital but died from his injuries at about 1 p.m., the CSP said.

A KRDO viewer asked if Houston's truck was equipped with "headache racks -- cab protectors designed to prevent objects from coming through the rear window.

District 20 said it will investigate.

Icy roads are considered factors in this crash; troopers have ruled out speeding, alcohol or drugs.

District 20 said Houston had just finished plowing Antelope Trails Elementary School and was heading to the DaVinci Academy.

"These are the folks and vehicles that head out even when the district is delayed or closed," said spokeswoman Allison Cortez. "They work to ensure the school lots and sidewalks are safe. This (tragedy) is just terrible. Our hearts are broken."

The crash happened at the bottom of a sharp curve that neighbors say is particularly icy during winter weather conditions.

"I think people just underestimate how icy the road gets," said Elizabeth Watkins, who lives at the corner of Gleneagle and Candlewood, near the crash scene. "Gleneagle is an extremely icy road, even with the plows."

Watkins' property has thick bushes along Gleneagle, and she says some drivers have crashed into the bushes while going along the curve.

"They keep the cars from getting into the yard," she said. "I'll be that's why the original homeowners planted them there."

More proof of the curve's effects can be seen on the next-closest side street, Sun Hills Drive, where several bent signposts show that vehicles have driven over the posts while taking the curve too wide.

Houston family is asking for privacy as it mourns his loss.