Crash involving CDOT snowplow in the high country turns fatal
- Media Logic Radio
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
A multi-vehicle crash killed one person and injured eight others on Thursday morning after a Colorado Department of Transportation snowplow lost control on Interstate 70 and crashed into oncoming traffic; one of those vehicles was a van carrying a youth hockey team.
Colorado State Patrol says the crash happened at 8:53 a.m. on eastbound I-70 near mile marker 218, close to Herman Gulch and about 13 miles east of Silverthorne.
Investigators say the snowplow was traveling westbound when it lost control, crossed the median, broke through a cable barrier, and entered the eastbound lanes.
The plow first struck a Toyota Tacoma that was traveling eastbound. That impact sent the Tacoma back across the median, where it collided with a westbound BMW.
The snowplow then struck a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van carrying a girls’ youth hockey team from Santa Clarita, California. The van went down an embankment, and the driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
Three adults and four juvenile passengers from the van were transported by ambulance to Denver Health. A fifth juvenile passenger was airlifted to a separate trauma center with critical injuries. No other injuries were reported.
Hospital officials say four of the children treated at Denver Health have been discharged or were in the process of being released Thursday evening. Two adults remain in serious condition, and one adult is listed in fair condition. An update on the critically injured child was not available.
The Clear Creek County Coroner’s Office will release the identity of the deceased driver at a later date.
In a statement on social media, the Santa Clarita Flyers hockey club confirmed one of its girls’ teams was involved in the crash while traveling to Denver for a Western Girls Hockey League weekend, asking the public to keep the families in their prayers.
Reports from California rea that the driver of the Sprinter van who was killed, was the father of one of the girl hockey players.
Eastbound Interstate 70 was closed for about seven hours and reopened just before 4 p.m. The crash is under investigation by the Colorado State Patrol’s vehicular crimes unit.
