Drivers describe snowy 70-vehicle pileup on Colorado's I-70: "Terrifying watching semis jackknife behind you"

Interstate 70 reopened in Colorado's mountains on Tuesday night, about five hours after a snowy afternoon pileup involving approximately 70 vehicles. The series of crashes happened before 3 p.m. in the eastbound lanes, close to the Eisenhower Tunnel, and left one person seriously hurt and a handful of others with minor injuries.

Snow fell on and off during the day in Clear Creek County's higher elevations, but at the time of the crash a quick burst of heavy accumulation and strong winds led to dangerously slick road conditions.

"It started snowing hard like a squall, the snow got heavier and all of a sudden we hit ice. Everybody was all over the road," said driver Tom Brock, whose car was damaged but he and his wife were uninjured.

Drivers were met with white-out conditions and many were unable to prevent their vehicles from slowing down during the descent from the tunnel. Some stepped on their brakes and with the ice on the road, the cars simply wouldn't stop.

"We came out of the tunnel and then we could tell it was slick and we saw that were just going to come into that car over there," said one crash victim.

The pileup resulted in major damage to cars, trucks and semis.

"It was terrifying watching semis jackknife behind you," said Bobby Ryan, who was heading to the Front Range after a meeting with his doctor. "It's not what I'd want to be doing when you're stuck in your car and there's a guardrail on the right and a median on the left."

Two other people, a man and a woman, said it was a rough experience sitting in their pickup truck after it crashed and then waiting as it got hit from behind -- and then the car that hit them got hit.

"Like slow motion," said the man who was in the pickup.

"And then, collison (after) collision," said the woman. 

"Like a pinball," said the man.

In addition to not being able to slow down, some drivers found their vehicles spinning down the icy interstate.

"I slowed down, was trying to get to the right but then someone in front of me spun, and then behind us it just turned into a mess," said Brock.

Many drivers, including Brock, said they were thankful for the quick response by all of the first responders. Brock described it as a "tremendous" effort.

"It's amazing how professional the patrol and EMT people are out here," he said. "This is a day at the office for them, I know, but for most of us this is a big deal. They're so good at it."

The Colorado State Patrol said 19 people were evaluated for injuries at the scene and 11 chose not to be taken to the hospital. Eight were taken to the hospital and one of those people was described as having "serious bodily injuries."