DILLON — Two separate, three-car wrecks on Dillon Dam early Thursday afternoon sent three people to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

“It was a little chaotic out there,” Steve Lipsher, spokesman with Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue, said of the incidents east of the glory hole on Dillon Dam Road.

Trooper Bryan Reed with Colorado State Patrol said the wrecks began after a Jeep Cherokee driving westbound was traveling too fast for the conditions “lost control and went into oncoming traffic.”

The Jeep collided “head-on” with a Nissan Altima traveling eastbound and a Honda Accord “ran into the two of them,” he said.

Roads were slick and windblown, and visibility was poor.

“That crash had just happened and traffic slowed down,” Reed said, adding that next a Chevrolet Venture minivan traveling westbound rear-ended a Jeep Liberty; the Venture was then rear-ended by a Subaru Outback.

Both wrecks occurred at about 12:30 p.m.

“Our firefighters were called out to respond to the first accident, and in the short period of time it took to get out the door to the scene, the second accident occurred about 300 yards from the first accident,” Lipsher said.

He said dam security personnel were helpful with getting the road closed to protect the emergency responders.

Summit County Ambulance Service responded with two ambulances, taking three people to St. Anthony Summit Medical Center. LDFR sent one fire-engine crew.

Summit County Sheriff's Office also responded to the incidents.

The road was eventually closed for the rest of the day.

Robert Allen can be contacted at (970) 668-4628 or rallen@summitdaily.com.



Corrects earlier version regarding which car hit which in second accident.