A man who was reported driving erratically on C-470 this evening stopped his vehicle on the shoulder, got out and was struck by oncoming traffic, a Colorado State Patrol spokesman said.
His name has not been released. Trooper Josh Lewis said the man was in his 20s or early 30s.
Numerous callers reported his erratic driving at about 6:40 p.m., but before law enforcement agencies could catch up to the driver, he stopped and was killed just west of U.S. Highway 85.
Lewis said at 9 p.m. investigators were still talking to witnesses, and he was not yet sure how many vehicles hit the man.
He was reported as a drunk driver, “but that’s something that will be determined by the coroner,” Lewis said.
C-470 reopened at 10:15 p.m.
In an unrelated incident tonight, a high-tension power line sagged perilously close to traffic as a nearby power pole slowly burned near Interstate 70 and I-270 about 8:20 p.m., said Lt. Phil Champagne, spokesman for Denver Fire.
At one point tonight, the fire closed I-270, I-70 and Quebec Street, Champagne said.
He said the line near Quebec Street was sparking and burning as Denver police officers quickly blocked traffic from running beneath the steadily sagging line.
“DPD did a tremendous job,” he said.
The final stretch of road on I-270 reopened at 9:30 p.m. as Xcel Energy replaces the pole and re-strung the wire.
He said that if the line had dropped to the pavement during rush hour “it would have been catastrophic.”
