<\/p>\n
Three accidents within four miles of each other occurred on U.S. Highway 160 east of the Four Corners Monument Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Emergency responders were first dispatched to a crash at milepost 8 called in by a Colorado Department of Transportation snowplow operator, said Colorado State Patrol Trooper Gary Smith.<\/p>\n
The snowplow operator was westbound when he stopped to investigate a rolled-over Ford Ranger in the eastbound ditch. He found that the vehicle \u2013 registered to a Bluff, Utah, owner \u2013 had been abandoned. Then an eastbound GMC from Arizona clipped the snowplow and went off the road, crashing into the abandoned Ford.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody was OK. Luckily the snowplow driver was clear when the vehicle hit,\u201d Smith said. The Arizona driver who hit the snowplow was issued a citation.<\/p>\n
A short time later, about 1:45 p.m. a three-car crash on U.S. 160 occurred at mile marker 12.<\/p>\n
At least one person was transported by ambulance to Southwest Memorial Hospital, according to Norman Wall, of the Ute Mountain Ute Fire Department, who was directing traffic around the accident.<\/p>\n
A SUV and passenger vehicle ended up off the south side of the highway in packed snow. Another passenger vehicle remained on the roadway and sustained severe rear-end damage.<\/p>\n
Traffic was delayed as the highway was restricted to one lane.<\/p>\n
The cause of the crash, which is being investigated by the Colorado State Patrol, was not available. It occurred during a snowstorm on snowpacked and icy roads.<\/p>\n
Southwest Health System ambulance and the Bureau of Indian Affairs also responded to the scene.<\/p>\n
Then at about 6 p.m., a single vehicle rollover occurred on U.S. 491 near Lewis. The driver lost control of pickup truck in snowy, icy conditions, went off the west shoulder, rolled once and took out a fence. The woman was not injured and was able to drive back onto the shoulder of the road. She was issued a ticket for improper mountain driving, a state patrol officer said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have had a lot of accidents today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A winter storm warning was scheduled to end at midnight Friday. Sunny and cold weather was forecast for Saturday, with a high temperature in the mid-20s and an overnight low around 10 degrees. The National Weather Service predicted a 40 percent chance of snow Sunday night and Monday morning in Montezuma County, with a high near 28 and a low of 15.<\/p>\n
Sunny skies were forecast for Tuesday through Friday, with high temperatures rising to above freezing by Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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