Unrelated Accidents Result in Minimal Injuries
In a bizarre twist of fate, many Greenhorn Valley residents spent a lot of time waiting in traffic on Interstate 25 last week. No, it wasn’t construction that was the holdup. It was two totally separate accidents. Fortunately, neither accident resulted in serious injuries, but both took some time to clean up and kept some people sitting in traffic for as long as three hours.
The first delay occurred on June 17, at approximately 9:06 a.m. near mile marker 80 in the lanes of Northbound Interstate 25. A 1988 Ford dump truck, driven by a 54-year-old man from Alamosa, caught fire and the material it was carrying created a series of explosions as the truck burned. Officials made the call to close both Northbound and Southbound I –25 due to the explosions, the high heat being generated, and the amount of fuel present.
According to Colorado State Patrol Josh Lewis, the fire was reported as under control at 9:46 a.m.and the southbound lanes were reopened at 9:53 a.m.
Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) announced at 12:03 p.m. that the Interstate had been reopened. They issued thanks to all PCSO officers who helped, in particular Incident Commander Deputy Ben Martinez, all Colorado State Patrol, and Rye Fire Protection District for their quick response and efforts in keeping everyone safe.
Just days later Southbound Interstate 25 was closed and/or had traffic diverted for several hours on June 20, when a 65-year-old man lost control of the trailer he was towing with a 1995 Dodge pickup. The trailer turned over blocking the Southbound lanes of Interstate 25 at approximately mile marker 88. The trailer reportedly required multiple tow trucks to be turned upright and removed from the roadway, resulting in a closure of approximately two hours.
Traffic was eventually diverted onto Burnt Mill Road to Colorado City, which may have contributed to two additional accidents on Highway 165.