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'Deceptively Icy' Streets Blamed For 50-Vehicle Pileup On 6th Avenue

DENVER (CBS4)- There were no serious injuries from the 50-car pileup on 6th Avenue near the Interstate 25 interchange on Thursday night. It took an army of tow trucks to clear all the damaged cars from the area.

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(credit: CBS)

Westbound lanes of 6th Avenue were closed at Kalamath and eastbound lanes of 6th Avenue were closed at Federal Boulevard at 7 p.m. Thursday.

"Once we noticed that the conditions changed we sent out our plow drivers to check those areas that tend to ice up that we always know are trouble spots, so our driver went out to that area and the accident had already happened, just as he had gotten there," said Denver Public Works spokeswoman Heather Burke. "We wouldn't have been able to pre-treat because yesterday the roads started out really wet and it would have just washed off the materials."

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(credit: CBS)

Denver police report only one serious injury in the crash, a broken leg. Investigators say it was icy and drivers were driving too fast for the conditions.

"This is a situation of why we always advise people, take it slow, especially on those bridges and overpasses because those always get icy," said Burke.

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