DENVER, Colo. (KMGH) – A major pileup involving about 100 vehicles left multiple people injured and dozens of drivers stranded early Friday morning as Denver woke up to its first measurable snowfall of the season.
The multi-vehicle pileup was first reported to police shortly after 5:30 a.m. Friday.
About an hour later, police tweeted both directions of West 6th Ave. had been shut down at N. Kalamath all the way to N. Federal Blvd. “due to several crashes.”
“I saw the big pile of cars coming right there and then when I tried to stop, you just sled – you couldn’t stop. There was no stopping,” said Anthony Mendoza, a driver who was involved in the pileup. “You just hit right in front of you, cars [were] hitting us from behind. It was a big mess. It was horrible.”
Mendoza described the road as “slick” by the time he saw the crash in front of him.
“It was more scary knowing you can’t stop,” he said. “It was just, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to hit something,' and hoping that I don’t hit nobody, so I turned and tried to hit the guard rail so I didn’t try hitting nobody else, but just got pushed more into it.”
Wyatte Cessna said the road was “all one big sheet of black ice” that you couldn’t see.
“I was on my way to work and I come up over the hill on 6th and there was a bunch of cars piled up,” Cessna said. “I tried my best to stop, but it wasn't working out, [I] slid into a dump truck, got hit like four more times, truck’s gone. My driver’s side door is basically in my seat now. Truck’s gone, it’s crazy. I'm alright though, so I guess everything's okay.”
Denver Fire Department officials said a total of 83 people were medically evaluated at the scene following the pileup. Of those, 13 were taken to the hospital. Only one of the 13 had serious injuries, the official said.
Vehicles that were left abandoned were towed to Empower Field at Mile High, where the Denver Broncos play.
It's unclear if the roads, which have reopened, were treated overnight to prevent such a crash in the first place.
It reportedly snowed about 1 to 2 inches in downtown Denver, near the crash site.
This story was originally reported on denver7.com.
