Fatal Snowplow Crash On I-70 Involves Youth Hockey Team

A routine winter drive turned into a nightmare Thursday morning on Interstate 70 in the Eisenhower Tunnel corridor when a Colorado Department of Transportation snowplow collided with a Sprinter van carrying a youth hockey team from California.

The driver of the van was killed, and multiple passengers, including young players, were critically injured.

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What We Know About the Accident

According to the Colorado State Patrol, the crash happened just after 8:50 a.m. at mile 218 near Herman Gulch. Eight people were taken to hospitals; five are juveniles. The driver of the Sprinter was pronounced dead at the scene.

Colorado Department of Transportation

CDOT and the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office initially closed eastbound I-70 at the crash site, snarling travel through a corridor that is already infamous for winter wrecks and weather-related closures. Troopers turned around some eastbound vehicles stuck between Silverthorne and the Eisenhower Tunnel, and westbound traffic was slowed as crews worked on the scene.

Emergency officials discouraged travel over Loveland Pass as an alternate route, citing hazardous conditions. The CSP’s Vehicular Crimes Unit is investigating, and troopers said they will release more information as it becomes available.

This stretch of I-70 has a long history of brutal winter weather, whiteout conditions, and high-speed crashes, something every Coloradan knows all too well. In recent years, lawmakers, law enforcement, and CDOT have pushed harder on chain laws and travel planning tools to prevent exactly this kind of tragedy on steep, snow-blown mountain pavement.

We’ll update this story as more official information comes in — because in mountain country, accurate, no-nonsense reporting matters when lives are on the line.

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