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State troopers: ‘Crash after crash after crash” during Thursday snow in Pikes Peak region

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SOUTHERN COLORADO (KRDO) -- The Colorado State Patrol (CSP) said that there were "numerous" crashes during the heavy, wet snowfall Thursday morning.

A CSP sergeant said that most of the accidents occurred on highways, and drivers either slipped off the road or hit other vehicles.

"There were a few two-car and three-car collisions," he said. "But little damage and no injuries that we know of."

The worst crash happened just before 8 a.m. on Highway 115, on a hill a just northeast of Penrose in Fremont County; troopers said that a driver traveling northeast, lost control on the slick highway and hit the front of a Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) snowplow traveling southwest during snow removal.

The CSP said that the car driver, a 45-year-old man, died at the scene; the snowplow driver suffered minor injuries and refused medical treatment, and the crash remains under investigation.

The highway was closed in both directions until 10:30 a.m., and drivers waited on a side road until 115 reopened; authorities are withholding the victim's name pending identification and notification of relatives.

Another crash -- much less serious -- happened around 6 a.m. on southbound Interstate 25, just north of the Pueblo Boulevard exit; a pickup truck and a semi truck collided but there was little damage and no injuries.

However, the accident did close the right lane of I-25 and briefly closed both lanes as police responded to the scene.

Temperatures hovered around freezing and made the pavement more slushy and wet, than icy; a KRDO 13 employee driving to the station from Pueblo said that heavy snowfall made seeing the traffic lanes impossible.

I-25 was particularly snow-packed between Colorado Springs and the El Paso/Pueblo County line.

Pueblo received several inches of snow -- enough that some schools closed, as did the Pueblo County Government Building downtown.

"I couldn't get my tags renewed at the DMV," explained David, a driver. "I hope I don't get a late fee because the tags expire tomorrow."

Downtown was active with people plowing and shoveling snow from streets, sidewalks and driveways.

"I have to be careful," said Gary Micheli, a volunteer at First Presbyterian Church across the street from the government building. "This snow is heavy. And it's more than we thought. I expected only a dusting."

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Scott Harrison

Scott is a reporter for KRDO. Learn more about Scott here.

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