Colorado’s Guanella Pass experiences hours-long traffic jam due to rollover incident
Hundreds of cars were delayed for several hours on Saturday due to a rollover incident on Guanella Pass on Saturday.
A white Toyota Highlander had rolled onto its side, blocking traffic in both directions. The vehicle was located just north of the Abyss Trailhead on the pass, south of the Guanella Pass summit, toward U.S. 285.
Colorado State Patrol reported no injuries from the incident.
According to a spokesperson from CSP, the driver of the vehicle that rolled was attempting to navigate the road with numerous illegally parked vehicles on both shoulders.
The driver of the Highlander collided with one parked and unattended vehicle and then corrected into another, police said. The second collision was enough to cause the Highlander to tip on its side even at very low speeds, according to investigators.
The incident happened during the height of fall’s “leaf peeping” season, where hundreds of outdoor tourists flock to the pass to gain picturesque views and photos of Colorado’s aspen leaves changing for the season.
According to the Clear Creek Sheriff’s Office, the incident was initially reported at 8:52 a.m. on Saturday and traffic was partially blocked until 9:36 a.m. on Saturday. The office would not provide further details, citing the investigation by Colorado State Patrol.
“I can’t figure out how it happened,” said one Reddit user, identified as u/xzzy. “At first I thought they screwed up parking on the shoulder and went past the tipping point but the marks on the asphalt hint they hit something in the road, flipped, and then spun to the resting spot. This was well after the accident, a bit before 2 p.m.”
The user shared this video of the overturned vehicle on social media.
According to Colorado State Patrol, the incident was reported at 12:02 p.m. and that the scene was finally cleared by 4:02 p.m.
Guanella Pass is a scenic byway and high mountain highway connecting Interstate 70 to U.S. Highway 285 between the towns of Georgetown and Grant. During the fall season, when the leaves change color, it is subject to a high volume of both vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

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