Troubles in the high country on Tuesday afternoon, as approximately 70 vehicles were involved in a crash that closed the interstate on the eastbound side for several hours. The wreck happened near MM 216 near Loveland Pass.

There was a westbound closure as well, but that was a separate, unrelated wreck involving a jack-knifed semi and a pickup truck. That side of the highway reopened at about 5 pm.

According to CDOT, the eastbound side of I-70 reopened at around 8:30 pm Tuesday. In a press release, the Colorado State Patrol said 19 people were taken to the hospital with various injuries, with 8 hospitalized and one with serious injuries. No fatalities were reported.

The roads were a bit slick due to the ½ inch of snowfall in the area for Monday night into Tuesday. Traffic was detoured onto U.S. 6 over Loveland Pass during the crash investigation.