Section of South Academy Boulevard in Colorado Springs reopens after deadly crash Monday
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Northbound and southbound Academy Boulevard near the Milton E. Proby Parkway ramp reopened late Monday afternoon after a fatal accident.
Two vehicles were involved and it was a head-on collision, according to police, with the drivers traveling in opposite directions.
The CSPD's Major Crash Team is investigating the accident, which closed Academy for over three hours in both directions between Drennan Road and Hancock Expressway.
Police confirmed that one person died in the crash; the other driver is being treated for injuries at a hospital.
"I know they believe that speed and alcohol are not factors," said police spokesperson Caitlin Ford.
Sati Odeye lives across the street from the crash site.
"I was just in here lying down, and basically I just heard a big, giant crash," he recalled. "But it sounded like a huge crash -- like something big. But there's been construction going on, so at first I didn't know what it was. It's sad to hear that someone lost their life."
The crash happened along an ongoing road construction zone where the northbound lanes zig-zag, and Odeye wonders if that is a factor in the accident.
"The traffic over here is confusing," he explained. "If you try to drive through this, the way that they have the construction set up, It literally has you turning, and then turning."
The traffic backup from Monday's accident added to congestion that already existed from vehicles driving through an adjacent mobile home park to detour around the construction.
During a City Council work session earlier Monday, Councilwoman Yolanda Avila -- who represents the southeast side of the city -- said that there has been an increase in accidents on nearby Chelton Road, because of more traffic from drivers hoping to avoid the construction zone.
