I-25 Reopens After 4 Hour Closure At 144th Avenue For Deadly Crash
BROOMFIELD, Colo. (CBS4)- All lanes and both directions of Interstate 25 north of the Denver metro area were reopened at 8 p.m. after being closed for several hours on Wednesday because of a deadly crash.
Copter4 flew over the crash scene just before 4 p.m. Wednesday where a portion of the Jersey barrier separating northbound and southbound lanes was broken out.
Colorado State Patrol investigators said it appears a female driver in an SUV was heading southbound when she hit the guardrail, overcorrected and swerved across all lanes of traffic and struck the center concrete barrier.
The SUV then went over the barrier, crossed all southbound lanes and came to a stop on the shoulder. The female driver died. No other passengers were inside the SUV.
Three other vehicles were hit with debris from the first SUV striking the barrier and going into the northbound lanes.
"The people going northbound weren't expecting big chunks of concrete landing inside their vehicle. You just need to be prepared, keep your eyes on everything. Don't text and drive, don't talk on the phone, keep your eyes on the road because you don't know what's going to happen," said Colorado State Patrol Cpl. Heath Griscavage.
Investigators are trying to figure out what caused the female driver to strike the guardrail which caused the chain reaction. State troopers said she was not wearing a seatbelt.
I-25 remained closed from Highway 7 southbound to 144th Avenue in both directions until 8 p.m. Wednesday. The lanes were closed at 3:30 p.m.
