Evacuation order lifted after van crash, fire, & propane leak in downtown Colorado Springs

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- An evacuation order was lifted near a downtown Colorado Springs intersection on the morning of November 1, 2023.

The Colorado Springs Fire Department put the order in place at 11:42 a.m. for those near the intersection of Colorado and Cascade avenues.

Colorado Springs Fire Department initially said it was due to a gas leak, but later clarified that it was because of a propane leak in a van that caught fire after crashing near the intersection.

The evacuation order ended at 12:08 p.m.; fire and police personnel left the scene near the Sun Plaza office building shortly after 1:30 p.m.

Police said that the van driver was taken to a hospital with serious injuries.

"We are still trying to piece together what, how and why this happened," said CSPD spokesperson Caitlin Ford.

Robert Parker said that he was in his car waiting for a green light at the intersection when the incident began.

"I noticed the van was acting kind of peculiar at the intersection," he recalled. "I heard him rev it up and go through the intersection, and drive through the landscaped area. The gentleman jumped out, rolling on the ground."

Parker and other bystanders pulled the driver away from the van as it began to burn, and stayed with him until first responders arrived; some witnesses even used fire extinguishers to try and keep the fire under control.

The intersection was closed for around 2-1/2 hours and reopened by 1:30 p.m.