Multi-car crash Saturday temporarily closes eastbound U.S. 24 in Ute Pass; icy conditions cited
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- The first tangible proof of wintry weather expected this weekend happened around 9:30 Saturday morning, in the eastbound lanes of U.S. 24, just east of the Pikes Peak Highway entrance in Ute Pass.
According to the Colorado State Patrol, slick pavement caused by light snow and freezing temperatures contributed to a nine-vehicle crash, during which some automobiles collided with each other and some slammed into concrete barricades along the right shoulder.
One person was injured and taken to Penrose Main Hospital for treatment.
Troopers said that the driver of one car lost control trying to avoid hitting the other vehicles, and ended up rolling down an embankment and into Fountain Creek, which separates eastbound and westbound traffic in that area.
The driver of that car wasn't hurt, troopers said.
Eastbound traffic was halted for more than an hour as troopers help tow truck drivers remove damaged vehicles; at one point, the backup stretched several miles to just outside the Woodland Park city limits.
Justin, of Colorado Springs, was a passenger of one of the crashed vehicles driven by his son.
"The road was really icy, we lost control, the car started spinning, we scraped and ended up facing the other way," he explained. "Other cars were spinning all over the road. We got hit a bunch of times and saw cars hitting other cars. We were near the front of it. The car is pretty much trashed."
Trooper Hiller of the State Patrol provided more details.
"It started when one car spun out, hit the guardrail and that caused a cascading effect," he said. "It seems that light snow that was falling, melted on the pavement and then froze."
The Colorado Department of Transportation sent a crew to the scene to treat the icy roads in that area.
Cascade first responders also responded to the scene.
One crash victim felt well enough to scold the KRDO crew who was at the scene.
"You need to be dressed a lot warmer than you are," she said, from her seat in a tow truck.
