From fb 285 traveler page in the last five minutes
Accident south of pine junction light
Passenger cars involved
Both lanes affected
Elk creek and Platte canyon on scene

Jeffco on scene

It’s pretty backed up

4 ambulances for transport

Traffic slowly being allowed through

Vehicles towed
Southbound still stopped

Too bad no webcam at PJ.

From Elk Creek Fires FB page:

At 3:33 this afternoon, Elk Creek Fire was toned to a motor vehicle accident on Hwy 285 near Wandcrest Rd. Responders found a head on collision involving two cars with heavy damage. Responders utilized extrication tools to cut open one of the cars to access a patient. There were four patients total, one “green” (non-critical), two “yellow” (high risk), and one “red” (critical). Some of the patients were minors, including the one in critical condition. All three of Elk Creek's ambulances were simutaneously needed to transport patients, and we required a fourth mutual aid ambulance from Platte Canyon Fire.

One of the vehicles had caught on fire, and we are extremely grateful to citizens who used fire extinguishers from their vehicles to begin extinguishing the fire prior to Engine 431’s arrival when a hose line and water could be utilized.

Please keep these patients and their families in your hearts this evening, and please hug your kids an extra time tonight.

Thank you to Platte Canyon Fire Protection District for your assistance with this call.

Highway 285 southbound was shut down for approximately one and half hours before lanes begin to reopen. Thank you to Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and Colorado State Patrol for your assistance.

Anyone know how this accident happened. What caused it? Seems like an odd place for a head on collision.

My best guess, this is where the two right lanes go to one and there are some drivers who fight like crazy to beat others. Have seen it and been in the middle of it over and over. Same problem on Richmond Hill right after overpass. Lanes narrow to one. Please be patient and let people in. It is not worth the sad outcome.

I monitored comments from FB on this call.
Including comments from the parent of two students in the one vehicle who were “ok”.

I don’t know how it happened. I can speculate as others will and maybe there’s more than one thing at play.
There were several mentions of “sun glare”.

The schoolbus had just unloaded at its stop in front of Golden Pine/IMHS and a lot of people turn left out of Wandcrest Park to get back on to S285.

This is a heavy traffic time of day. This is a merge point southbound. The sun is low in the sky as evidenced by the long shadows of vehicles in the picture. Less then seasoned drivers. Going northbound, I’ve been surprised while passing slow moving trucks in the right lane to be forced to break by people pulling out across the right lane into the left out in front of me with someone else flying up my (removed) leaving them no room for error.

No traffic study has been done here for the CORE and Shirley Septic Debacle. Which incidentally, there is ongoing continuous trash truck activity into this parcel which has to the best of my knowledge, no rezoning and no permits…

I pray for the full recovery of those injured. Accidents happen.

Brace yourself. There’s going to be more….

Maybe that school bus stop could be moved to a place where little things like safety of our young people aren’t trivial details of nod and wink county arrangements …

Since the powers that be pretend this is all above board as if this is some alternative reality, maybe the parents of actual living breathing children that have the misfortune of being put in harms way can make an appeal to have the literal brakes put on before the worst happens.

We know how bad that stretch of 285 ices over. We know of the carnage of large wildlife crossings.
We know the pre ordained impatience at that merge.

God help us. Because Park County BOCC is bought and blind.

Up until about 12 years ago, the striping on the southbound lanes was different. There were two lanes up to the intersection with signs on the shoulder and paint in the lanes indicating through traffic needed to move to the right lane, and the left lane was marked as left turn only for S285 turning on to Wandcrest. Then on the south side of that intersection, there was a short left lane so folks coming out of Wandcrest could take advantage of a break in the northbound traffic to get across those lanes with room for one vehicle to then stop in a southbound left lane and safely wait for a break in the southbound traffic.

CDOT changed that awhile back and now traffic coming out of Wandcrest wanting to turn left has to wait for a break in both directions of traffic. This leads to folks taking more risks as the two different directions of traffic on 285 have no common control creating breaks. This was a needless and thoughtless change on the part of CDOT.