Several accidents Sunday, including a four-car collision, have Colorado State Patrol and Mercy Regional Medical Center working on overdrive.

Nine people were transported to Mercy on Sunday, one with serious injuries, after a four-car collision at 8:30 a.m. on U.S. Highway 550 near Electra Lake, said Sgt. Ben Steger with Colorado State Patrol.

Cara Loveless, 33, of Phoenix was extricated from a 2010 Honda Crossover and transported by ambulance to Mercy with serious injuries, Steger said. Loveless was in fair condition Sunday afternoon, said Mercy Regional Medical Center spokesman David Bruzzese.

Crews were forced to stop traffic from 8:30 a.m. until 10:43 a.m. to extricate Loveless and load eight others into ambulances, Steger said.

Kelley Deeny, 38, of Phoenix was headed southbound in a 2008 Ford Explorer spun out of control and into the northbound lane, colliding with a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado pickup driven by Philip Noel, 55, of Alba, N.M. and a 2003 Honda Odyssey driven by Paul Mattox, 46, of Durango, Steger said.

Loveless was in the back passenger’s seat of a 2010 Honda Crossover driven by Heather Przybyl, 41, of Goodyear, Ariz., which was headed southbound behind the Explorer. Przybyl attempted to avoid the collision but was unsuccessful, he said.

Deeny was cited for no proof of insurance and careless driving causing injury, he said.

Przybyl and Mattox also were cited with having no proof of insurance, he said.

Two passengers from the Explorer, Danielle Soza, 27, of Phoenix and Kerry Kincos, 33, of Tempe, Ariz., were transported to Mercy by ambulance as well as a second unknown passenger from the Crossover and 13-year-old and 7-year-old girls, both related to Mattox, from the Odyssey, Steger said.

The occupants of the Crossover and Explorer were heading to town for breakfast and those in the Silverado were on their way to go skiing, he said.

Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort was offering discounted tickets as part of its Locals Day benefit Sunday, causing heavy traffic in the area.

Also, a head-on collision took place on U.S. Highway 160, west of County Road 225A, Steger said.

A driver in a 1991 Chevy Geo Prizm was headed eastbound when the car swerved into the westbound lane, colliding head-on with a 2001 Ford Escape, he said.

The driver of the Geo Prizm was self-transported to Mercy with a head injury, Steger said. One person from the Escape was transported to Mercy and three others transported themselves, he said.

The driver of the Geo Prizm was cited for careless driving, he said.

In addition, there was a single-vehicle rollover on U.S. Highway 550 at County Road 220 near the top of Farmington Hill, he said.

The female driver of a 2003 Ford Expedition was extricated and transported to Mercy, he said.

The woman was later released and was cited with careless driving, he said.

A combination of icy roads and speeding led to all of the accidents, Steger said. Alcohol and drugs are not suspected in any of the accidents, though all remain under investigation.

“The hospital’s been pretty busy today,” Steger said.

Though the roads were snowy and icy Sunday morning, crews were able to improve conditions by the afternoon, he said.

According to the National Weather Service, snow could continue to fall through Wednesday.

There’s a slight chance of rain and snow during the day today, with the odd’s raising to 50 percent by tonight. Between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m. Tuesday Durangoans could see between 1 and 3 inches of snow accumulate with a 20 percent chance of snow Wednesday.

The rest of the week should be fairly clear, according to the National Weather Service.

Colorado State Patrol Sgt. Ben Steger’s name was mispelled in an earlier version of this story.