Driver defies Berthoud Pass closure, crashes into snowplow

Lanie Lee Cook
·1 min read
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DENVER (KDVR) — A 33-year-old man was arrested Thursday after defying a Berthoud Pass closure, leading law enforcement on a chase up the pass and then crashing into a snowplow.

The incident began about 12:06 p.m. at the Berthoud Pass/U.S. 40 closure point at Mary Jane Road in Winter Park, according to a release from the Grand County Sheriff’s Office.

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A sheriff’s sergeant was blocking the pass with a vehicle, but a driver in an SUV drove past it and kept traveling eastbound, the release said. The sergeant pursued the driver until the Berthoud Pass summit — at that point, other law enforcement agencies were notified about the driver.

Soon after, the driver crashed into a snowplow about 5 miles east of the Berthoud Pass summit, the sheriff’s office said.

A vehicle crashed into a snowplow on a snowy Berthoud Pass
A vehicle crashed into a snowplow on a snowy Berthoud Pass

“Preliminary investigation at the scene indicated that the suspect’s vehicle had collided with a CDOT (Colorado Department of Transportation) plow who had attempted to protect and shield other vehicles from the suspect’s vehicle,” the release said.

The man ran away from the crash but soon was captured. The Empire Police Department arrested him on traffic charges and an outstanding felony warrant on a parole violation, the sheriff’s office said.

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