Driver taken to hospital after overnight crash in northeastern El Paso County

PEYTON, Colo. (KRDO) - A man required hospital treatment after a single-vehicle crash in Peyton, east of Colorado Springs, early Friday morning.

The crash happened around 3:45 a.m. at the intersection of Falcon and Peyton highways. A Dodge minivan was driving north on Peyton Highway when it failed to stop at the T-intersection.

The van then went through a barbed wire fence and a boulder before rolling and coming to a rest on its side. The crash ripped the engine block out of the van.

According to the Colorado State Patrol, the driver was the only one in the van at the time and was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries. Troopers said that he was wearing a seatbelt when he crashed.

KRDO NewsChannel 13 has learned that this is the second crash at this location in the past three months and that a property owner apparently installed a makeshift barricade on his side of the fence line to keep drivers from crashing through, but the van in Friday's crashed still went through.

While erecting a barricade or obstacles to protect your property from traffic may seem to be extreme behavior, Colorado Springs resident Shirley Frasier, 87, said that she can understand why people do it. She said that since moving to her home along Chelton Road in 1964, her yard has been damaged a dozen times by vehicles that couldn't navigate an adjacent sharp curve.

"The fence man, when he fixes the back fence, it'll be three times this year -- from last March to this March -- that they've been in my yard," she said. "My neighbor has boulders in her yard. I've told public works about the problem, but they haven't decided what to do. I certainly can't afford to put a brick wall around my property."

The county recently started a road safety plan that will study crash trends to better understand how, where and why crashes happen. The plan also will identify specific locations for safety improvements, increased traffic enforcement and public education.

Part of the plan includes seeking public feedback. For more information on how to participate, visit: http://epcsaferroads.com/.

Maggie DeAngelis, who lives near Friday's crash scene, said that she's glad to hear about the plan because she's worried about numerous accidents there.

"I would think a yellow light that blinks on and off would be fine to kind of bring notice to it," she said. "Or maybe one of the stop signs with the bright red lights that flicker on and off would be a good idea."