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Semitrailer tips over snowplow

Driver taken to hospital as precaution
A Colorado Department of Transportation snowplow sits on its side Friday on U.S. Highway 550 near the New Mexico state line. The snowplow flipped after being struck by the back wheels of a semitrailer near milepost 2. The snowplow driver was taken to Mercy Regional Medical Center as a precaution.

Mid-afternoon Friday, a Colorado Department of Transportation snowplow was struck by a passing semitrailer and rolled into the median on U.S. Highway 550 near the New Mexico border.

The snowplow driver, Bayfield resident Cletis Chandler, 57, was transported to Mercy Regional Medical Center as a precaution, Sgt. Ben Steger with the Colorado State Patrol said.

“They were headed southbound toward New Mexico,” he said about the crash, which was reported just before 2:30 p.m. “The snowplow was in the left-hand lane removing snow when the semi tried to pass. He was almost around it, but the rear wheels of the trailer clipped the side plow on the snowplow, flipping it on its passenger side.”

The snowplow came to rest in the median but almost in the northbound lane, he said.

The semi’s driver was 51-year-old Farmington resident Dana Lewis, driving for Estes Trucking and making deliveries for Home Depot. He did not require transport to the hospital.

“The only damage to the semi is that the wheels are now off-kilter,” Steger said.

He said the roads were mostly wet with a little slush in places, so road conditions probably did not play a factor.

The crash presents a challenge, Steger said.

“We’re going to have to do some research,” he said, about determining what citation, if any, will be given to Lewis.

“Snowplows are out there on their own,” he said. “They have different rules; they’re not considered motor vehicles when they’re plowing or laying down sand or de-icer. Both snowplows and semis have their own duties and responsibilities.”

abutler@durangoherald.com



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