Marksheffel Road/Stetson Hills Boulevard intersection reopens in Colorado Springs after truck slides off road into townhome
Sadie Buggle
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Just before 10:30 a.m. Thursday, the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) reopened the intersection of Stetson Hills Boulevard and Marksheffel Road after a truck slid off the road and crashed into a townhome.
Our crews on scene shared images of what appeared to be a work truck that had driven off the road, going over a short retaining wall before hitting the rear wall of the home.
As of noon Thursday, police hadn’t confirmed any details about the crash; however, neighbors said that no one was hurt.
The crash happened at 6300 Passport View, just south of the closed intersection.
Melissa Kueckelhan, a neighbor, said that the crash happened shortly after 7 a.m.
“I woke up, looked out the window, and saw lots of commotion going on,” she recalled. “Didn’t see the truck at first, but we just came out and saw the truck there. Totally scary.”
The townhome residents declined an interview request from KRDO 13.
The Red Cross visited the residents to assess any needs; Colorado Springs Utilities and a restoration company began assessing the damage for repairs.
The closed intersection is within the three miles of the ongoing Marksheffel widening project.
Although police didn’t immediately say whether icy road conditions may have caused the crash, many roads and streets across the city were slick to drive on during Thursday morning’s commute, after melting snow from Wednesday’s storm froze when overnight temperatures dropped under 20 degrees.
One particular trouble area was Barnes Road, a few blocks west of Powers Boulevard.
Witnesses said that two cars skidded, lost control, and bumped into each other, followed by one of the cars being struck by a third vehicle that left the scene.
The incidents happened on a hill on eastbound Barnes, which was literally a sheet of ice.
Sarah Para was one of the two drivers who spun out on the road.
“I was on my way to work,” she explained. “It was really scary to me. It came out of nowhere. Very sudden. I’m thankful no one was hurt.”
Steven Jarrel came to check on his sister, who was the driver of the second stuck car.”
“I don’t think anyone expected the roads to be like this,” he said. “I drove through here last night, and it wasn’t like this.”
The hill is near a construction site, and two wheels of one car became stuck on a curb; several people tried to pull her out, but the effort was unsuccessful.
A police officer arrived to talk with the two drivers who spun out.
The sun quickly melted much of the ice on the road, and plow trucks made several passes to scrape up snow and ice.
Earlier on Thursday morning, a convoy of six plows worked along the bottom of Broadmoor Bluffs Drive and the south end of Academy Boulevard.
An overnight city streets supervisor said that ice on secondary and neighborhood streets likely would be a concern on Thursday.