Colton Wiedman Faces Careless Driving Charges After I-70 Plow Crash

What happens to the guy who’s out there at 5 a.m. when it’s ten below and the plow needs to hit the road, once he’s been charged with killing a guy and sending eight others to the hospital?

That’s the question hanging over Clear Creek County as Colton Wiedman’s name moves from the driver’s seat of a CDOT snowplow to the docket of the 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

Picture this: Interstate 70, Mile Point 218, just a few miles east of the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels. It’s 8:53 a.m. on January 29. The air is thin, the roads are icy, and a 29-year-old Littleton resident is behind the wheel of a massive piece of machinery. He’s working for the Colorado Department of Transportation. He’s supposed to be clearing the way. Instead, he loses control.

The plow breaks through the cable rail at the median. It crosses over into the eastbound lanes, right into the path of a Toyota Tacoma and a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van carrying a girl’s hockey team from Santa Clarita, California. The impact sends the Tacoma crossing the median again, hitting a BMW.

One person dies. Seven others get hurt. Four of them are kids.

Now, the Colorado State Patrol has put the charges on the table. Wiedman faces eight misdemeanors and one infraction. One count of careless driving causing death. Four counts of careless driving causing serious bodily injury. Three counts of careless driving resulting in bodily injury. All Class 1 Traffic Misdemeanors. Plus a single count of failure to drive in a designated lane, a Class A Traffic Infraction.

Here’s the thing though: the state knows he did it, but they’re still figuring out what it means for his job. CDOT confirmed on Thursday that Wiedman was placed on administrative leave immediately after the crash. His employment will be handled according to state personnel policies. That’s bureaucratic speak for "we’re watching him closely before we decide if he keeps his pension."

Neither the State Patrol nor CDOT responded to emails on Thursday regarding whether Wiedman is still employed by the state. They didn’t say if his driving privileges are suspended. They didn’t give us the full timeline of how a plow truck goes from westbound to eastbound in a split second. We know the driver. We know the charges. We don’t know the full story yet.

The driver of the van, which was carrying ten people, was declared dead at the scene. At least seven passengers were transported to hospitals. One went by helicopter. The 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. Wiedman is scheduled to be arraigned in Clear Creek County Court on May 5.

It’s a lot of legal machinery grinding away for one driver, one van, and one stretch of highway that locals use to get to the resorts every winter. The charges are specific. The consequences are personal. And the community is left waiting to see if the guy who lost control is just going to pay his fines, or if he’s going to lose his livelihood in the process.

The snow will melt eventually. The tunnels will stay open. But for now, the charges sit on a desk in Clear Creek, waiting for May 5.