I-76 Accident Results In Multiple Fatalities, Injuries
Six Killed In Truck-Van Accident Near Crook
An early morning accident Monday on Interstate 76 near Sterling has resulted in six fatalities and 14 injuries, 7News reported.
The Colorado State Patrol said that the accident happened about 4:15 a.m., along a snowy stretch of I-76 near Crook, Colo. A state patrol trooper told 7News that the accident involved a semitrailer truck and a van carrying Mexican nationals.
The van and the semi were eastbound on I-76 when the accident happened. Initial indications are consistent with a rear-end accident, a state patrol spokesman said.
All of the fatalities were believed to be in the van, according to the state patrol and were males.
The driver of the semi was treated and released. He was not immediately identified. The trucking company was based in Minnesota, the state patrol said.
The van carried a total of 20 people. It originated from the Phoenix,Ariz., area and was heading to the Chicago, Ill., vicinity, according to the state patrol.
A spokeswoman for Sterling Regional Medical Center said that the hospital was treating eight patients, while another six were taken to Sedgwick County Hospital in Julesburg, Colo. Two of the more seriously injured patients at Julesburg were airlifted to a hospital in Kearney, Neb., officials said.
The interstate was still closed at 10 a.m., more than five hours after the accident. It was expected to reopen shortly.
In all, eight people died in traffic accidents that could be
blamed on the late-winter weekend storm.
The snow and rain in the Denver metro area left many bridges, overpasses and side streets icy and snowpacked Monday.
Farther west, Interstate 70 and Highway 285 were reported to be icy and snowpacked in spots, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
Ice was blamed for two accidents inside the tunnels east of Idaho Springs Sunday. The State Patrol said that the accidents were because of heavy traffic and drivers not slowing down for conditions.
The mountains also received a lot more snow than the metro area over the weekend.
U.S. Highway 6 was still closed Monday morning after a snowslide across the highway. Highway crews cleared the snowslide, but the highway remained closed
overnight because of heavy snow. In southern Colorado, Monarch Pass
was closed for about an hour.
The wet snow wasn't enough to appreciably change snowpack levels in northern and
central areas, which remain below 80 percent in many river basins.
March is the snowiest month of the season in Colorado. The average March snowfall for Denver is 12.5 inches. That compares with only 7.4. inches in February and 8.2 inches in January, according to records kept by the National Weather Service.
Last year, Denver was a little below average, with 11.3 inches. In 1999, March was a dry month for snowfall with only 4.2 inches recorded. The record snowfall for March in Denver was set in 1944. That's when the city received 32.5 inches.
"We will see sunshine and temperatures in the 40s later Monday," 7News meteorologist Kristi Carson said. "We are finished with the snow for the most part." Carson said some snow will linger in the northeast Monday. "Our next chance of snow is this Thursday," Carson said.
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The Colorado State Patrol said that the accident happened about 4:15 a.m., along a snowy stretch of I-76 near Crook, Colo. A state patrol trooper told 7News that the accident involved a semitrailer truck and a van carrying Mexican nationals.
The van and the semi were eastbound on I-76 when the accident happened. Initial indications are consistent with a rear-end accident, a state patrol spokesman said.
All of the fatalities were believed to be in the van, according to the state patrol and were males.
The driver of the semi was treated and released. He was not immediately identified. The trucking company was based in Minnesota, the state patrol said.
The van carried a total of 20 people. It originated from the Phoenix,Ariz., area and was heading to the Chicago, Ill., vicinity, according to the state patrol.
A spokeswoman for Sterling Regional Medical Center said that the hospital was treating eight patients, while another six were taken to Sedgwick County Hospital in Julesburg, Colo. Two of the more seriously injured patients at Julesburg were airlifted to a hospital in Kearney, Neb., officials said.
The interstate was still closed at 10 a.m., more than five hours after the accident. It was expected to reopen shortly.
In all, eight people died in traffic accidents that could be
blamed on the late-winter weekend storm.
The snow and rain in the Denver metro area left many bridges, overpasses and side streets icy and snowpacked Monday.
Farther west, Interstate 70 and Highway 285 were reported to be icy and snowpacked in spots, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
Ice was blamed for two accidents inside the tunnels east of Idaho Springs Sunday. The State Patrol said that the accidents were because of heavy traffic and drivers not slowing down for conditions.
The mountains also received a lot more snow than the metro area over the weekend.
U.S. Highway 6 was still closed Monday morning after a snowslide across the highway. Highway crews cleared the snowslide, but the highway remained closed
overnight because of heavy snow. In southern Colorado, Monarch Pass
was closed for about an hour.
The wet snow wasn't enough to appreciably change snowpack levels in northern and
central areas, which remain below 80 percent in many river basins.
March is the snowiest month of the season in Colorado. The average March snowfall for Denver is 12.5 inches. That compares with only 7.4. inches in February and 8.2 inches in January, according to records kept by the National Weather Service.
Last year, Denver was a little below average, with 11.3 inches. In 1999, March was a dry month for snowfall with only 4.2 inches recorded. The record snowfall for March in Denver was set in 1944. That's when the city received 32.5 inches.
"We will see sunshine and temperatures in the 40s later Monday," 7News meteorologist Kristi Carson said. "We are finished with the snow for the most part." Carson said some snow will linger in the northeast Monday. "Our next chance of snow is this Thursday," Carson said.
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