Colo Springs - Rollover traffic accident w/serious injuries - as paged

[dw2872]

Shortly after 8am, a serious rollover traffic accident occurred on I-25 near mm132-133, the Fountain exit, south of Colo Springs. This is a really bad area for serious rollover accidents for some reason. It's very common there. And this one happenned in nice weather.

This was paged on IPN at 8:14am. Also paged on MMN at 8:55am.

Colo Springs Gazette article:
At least one injured in rollover crash on Interstate 25 | crash, interstate, one - Top Stories - Colorado Springs Gazette, CO

KKTV article:
I-25 Closed In Both Directions Near Exit 132 In Security/Widefield Area

KRDO article (this one has pics and mentions Memorial Star medical chopper laning on tyhe interstate):
Memorial Star Lands On I-25 to Transport Victim Of Crash - News Story - KRDO Colorado Springs

 

[jimmnn]

Now CSP confirming at least one fatal.

Jim<

 

[firescannerbob]

Shortly after 8am, a serious rollover traffic accident occurred on I-25 near mm132-133, the Fountain exit, south of Colo Springs. This is a really bad area for serious rollover accidents for some reason. It's very common there. And this one happenned in nice weather.

I travel that section of road 20 times a month... I can tell you why it happens. It's because a LOT of the drivers are doing well over 10+ over the limit, tailgating (as in the cause of this wreck) and weaving in and out of traffic, cutting people off. In 13 years of traveling through there going to and from work, I'm lucky that I've only seen a few wrecks and never been involved in one. *CSP gets a lot of use on my cell phone...

 

[dw2872]

Cars stopping on the Interstate

I heard that the guy that rear ended the other truck (with the man and infant in it) was most probably texting or otherwise distracted by his phone. The truck that was rear ended was disabled in the I-25 traffic lanes. It happenned before a little south of there, a few months ago, a news producer that works in Colo Springs was travelling from Pueblo and they hit a dear in the traffic lanes and they could not push it off the interstate. They called CSP but they did not treat it as a priority because the dispatcher were watching a Christmas movie (no joke, thats what came out of the CSP investigation). Ten minutes later, someone was travelling from out of state and sleepy and they slammed into them with no warning from those big electronic billboards at all. They hit the car and rolled killing the couple. The news producer saw the whole thing and did a story about why it took so long to get there or at least warn travellers that a 75 mph lane was blocked by a car standing still.

An accident happenned yesterday at I-25 and S. Circle just a an exit or two north of this accident and people stopped their cars in the fast lane and they all got out and stood there. A few minutes later, cars slammed into them as well. See the attached before and after pics taken from the Colorado Springs Traffic cam for that area...

 

[firescannerbob]

The truck that was rear ended was disabled in the I-25 traffic lanes. .

From KKTV.com: Troopers say just after 8:00 Wednesday morning, a Toyota Tacoma, driven by 30-year-old Shaun Smith of Pueblo, was traveling north on Colorado 25 when he stopped for traffic.
As the Toyota was coming to a stop, a 1999 Subaru Legacy, driven by 22-year-old Daniel Woldtvedt of Sunburst, Montana, struck the rear of the Toyota at a high rate of speed.

From KOAA.com: Investigators say Woldtvedt struck the back of a stopped car on northbound I-25 at a high rate of speed. The car was stopped because of traffic.

 

[dw2872]

Ah, I see. The Gazette article linked at the top of this thread says that traffic was slowing down for a disabled vehicle and I (incorrectly) assumed that it was the rear-ended truck that was disabled. I went back and listened to the archives and a deputy was enroute to assist a motorist with a flat tire on the interstate when she was notified of this accident. Needless to say, she was the first on scene.