A patient was killed when an ambulance crashed around 2 a.m. Sunday in snowy conditions on Interstate 76 near Brush, according to Colorado State Patrol officials.
Lauren Putney, a 23-year-old from Julesbeg, was transporting Brenda Ebke, a 57-year-old patient, between hospitals in a Sedgewick County EMS Ambulance when she lost control in the snow. Ebke died on the scene.
Putney and another passenger, Vickie Sandlin, 53, were transported to a hospital with injuries.
Colorado State Patrol officials said the crash was the only fatality related to dangerous roads caused by the storm. But snowy conditions across Colorado contributed to traffic woes for intrepid travelers braving the roads Saturday night and Sunday morning.
A vehicle on Interstate 25 near Castle Rock slid into a Colorado State Trooper’s vehicle around midnight Saturday while the trooper was assisting with a nearby collision. The driver of the car sustained minor injuries, but the trooper walked away unscathed.
Dangerous driving conditions shut down traffic on several Colorado highways Sunday morning. At 7:30 a.m., U.S. 6 at Loveland Pass and U.S. 85 at the Wyoming border were closed.
U.S. 287 from Ted’s Place to the Wyoming border reopened about 1:05 p.m. after closing around 7:30 a.m. Sunday.
The Colorado State Patrol in Limon warned of drifting snow conditions from east of Aurora to Flagler Sunday morning. The agency recommended slower speeds for drivers heading that way.
Congestion on Interstate 70 is causing delays of at least 30 minutes, from Denver at C-470 to the Eisenhower Tunnel at milemarker 295-215. The Colorado Department of Transportation estimates total travel time between those areas will average 75 minutes.
Chain and traction laws were in effect for , but CDOT has begun lifting them in areas where the snow has tapered off.
CDOT retracted the traction law between Vail and Silverthorne on I-70 Sunday morning, as well as the one in place in both directions between Silverthorne and Denver C-470.
Colorado State Patrol in Cañon City tweeted at 11 a.m. that the chain law has been lifted on Monarch Pass. But chain laws remain in effect for several areas of I-70.
Vehicles heading eastbound from Silverthorne to Eisenhower Tunnel at milemarker 228-215 are required to chain up. As are cars traveling in both directions from eastbound Georgetown to the Eisenhower Tunnel from milemarker 228-215 and from Golden to Georgetown at milemarker 259-228.
The American Red Cross has closed in Falcon that it opened Saturday for people stranded in the snow. The shelter closed at around 7 a.m. Sunday, according to a tweet from El Paso County, which said no one ended up staying at the shelter.
The Colorado Springs Police Department tweeted around noon Sunday that Colorado Springs is no longer on accident alert, after spending most of the day Saturday
After Colorado Springs spent most of the Saturday on accident alert, the Colorado Springs Police Department tweeted at noon Sunday that the alert had been lifted.
Katy Canada: 303-954-1043, kcanada@denverpost.com or @KatySusanna
