SOUTH METRO DENVER — With the first measurable snowfall of the season, first responders are preparing for an uptick in snow-related crashes as drivers in the Denver metro readjust to winter weather.
The Denver Police Department said officers responded to 55 crashes between midnight and 10:55 a.m. Wednesday in Denver. DPD said none of the crashes lead to serious injuries.
South Metro Fire Rescue said its dispatch center received reports of 21 accidents from 9 p.m. Tuesday to 9 a.m. Wednesday. South Metro Fire Public Information Officer Brian Willie said the majority of those incidents were single-vehicle accidents, spin outs, and a couple of rollovers. He said no serious injuries were reported during that time frame.
"We thought there might be a little bit more accidents, because people just aren't prepared as much for that first snow," said Willie. "But 21 accidents in that 12 hours is pretty low."
The fire rescue's emergency communications center on East Mineral Avenue in Centennial is where call takers and dispatchers handle calls related to fire and medical incidents in the area, including crashes. Jenn Schmidt, an emergency dispatcher, said this first snowstorm led to usual sights on the roads.
"This morning was very, very crazy with the icing over the roads, a lot of spin outs, a lot of solo vehicle accidents, which is pretty common. People are spinning on the ice, going a little too fast, vehicles into ditches and into trees and whatnot. So pretty typical for what we see during this kind of weather," said Schmidt.
She said technology, like GPS tracking, helps locate crews closest to scenes and pinpoints exactly where drivers are stranded.
"It's good for us a lot of times, especially on a highway, people don't know exactly where they're at, and so being able to pinpoint their location when they're telling us, 'we're somewhere between Castle Rock and Lone Tree,' that's a large span — and especially with multiple crashes going on, it helps us pinpoint where they're at," said Schmidt.
North Metro Fire Rescue said it responded to four vehicle accidents between midnight and noon on Wednesday. Dash cam video from one of the crashes just after 8:30 a.m. on westbound US 36 shows the aftermath of a two-car crash with no injuries as crews arrived on scene. You can see the dash cam video in the player below.
Willie said South Metro Fire serves nearly 500,000 people in their district and coordinates responses all the way to the eastern state line. He emphasized how quickly road conditions can deteriorate.
"They're driving the speeds that they were driving last night... they're driving again this morning, and that's just too fast," Willie said.
