Most drivers on Highway 285 near Morrison, Colorado are watching for wildlife, sudden weather changes, or the kind of aggressive merging that comes standard on busy mountain corridors. Nobody was watching for a semi-truck shedding multiple boxes of roofing screws across the pavement. But that is exactly what happened on Tuesday afternoon, and by the time the dust settled, the damage count had climbed to more than 50 vehicles.
The incident occurred at approximately 12:19 p.m. near milepost 247, the Morrison exit, when a semi-truck spilled multiple boxes of nails and screws onto westbound Highway 285. Colorado State Patrol was notified, located the truck, and made contact with the driver, who cooperated with investigators. The cooperation was a small mercy. The debris field was not.
What started as five confirmed vehicles with damaged tires at the scene quickly ballooned as the afternoon wore on. Drivers who had passed through the area without immediately noticing a problem began showing up at tire shops miles down the road, their warning lights on and their patience long gone. By Wednesday, reports were still coming in. Throughout Tuesday and into Wednesday, troopers continued receiving calls from drivers whose vehicles had been affected…