A vehicle mysteriously exploded into flames Friday morning at a trailhead in Colorado’s mountains near Dillon, killing a man inside, sheriff’s officials said.
Summit County deputies responded to an explosion at the trailhead for Straight Creek Trail near the Dillon Valley neighborhood shortly before 7 a.m. Friday, according to a .
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Summit Fire and Emergency Medical Services, the Red, White, and Blue Fire Protection District and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Residents in the area reported hearing an explosion and seeing smoke, sheriff’s officials said. When deputies arrived, they found a vehicle fully engulfed in flames.
One man was inside the car when it exploded, and he died from his injuries at the scene, according to the release. He will be identified by the Summit County Coroner’s Office.
“Anytime there is an explosion and a tragic death, there will be a significant investigation,” Summit County Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons said in a statement. “We have brought together a team of experts to determine exactly what happened. What we know right now is that a person has died, and our thoughts are with their loved ones as we work to find out exactly what happened.”
Investigators believe the explosion was an isolated incident.
Anyone with information about the deadly incident is asked to contact the Summit County Sheriff’s Office at 970-668-8600.
The Straight Creek Trail is an old double-track road that parallels Interstate 70 up to the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnel, .
Hikers on the trail cross Straight Creek several times as they climb up the valley through a pine forest, U.S. Forest Service officials said. Straight Creek is the main water supply for Dillon.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
