Colorado Highway 86 closed between Kiowa and Elizabeth for deadly crash, CSP says

Colorado Highway 86 is closed between Kiowa and Elizabeth due to a deadly head-on crash, according to the Kiowa Fire Protection District.

Few details were immediately available, but the crash was first reported around 6:35 a.m. on Monday about 7 miles east of Kiowa, according to Colorado State Patrol, and the road is closed in both directions.

The Colorado Department of Transportation said the closure was still in place as of about 10 a.m., but there were also detours in place via Interstate 70 or U.S. Highway 24. CSP said the response and investigation could take about two hours.

In a news release later Monday morning, CSP said the crash involved a 1993 Dodge pickup, whose driver, a 45-year-old man, swerved onto the shoulder of the westbound lane, got back onto the road, but veered into the eastbound lane, where it then crashed into a 2022 Ford SUV.

The driver of the Dodge was pronounced at the scene and the driver of the Ford was taken to a hospital in Parker with serious injuries.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

The site of the crash is about 45 miles southeast of Denver.