Wrong-way driver causes head-on crash on I-25 near Crystal Valley Parkway

A wrong-way driver turned the southbound lanes of Interstate 25 near Crystal Valley Parkway into a head-on crash scene before sunrise, sending one man to the hospital and shutting down a key Douglas County commute corridor near Castle Rock. Colorado State Patrol said calls began coming in around 5:12 a.m. Wednesday, May 20, 2026, near milepost 179, about two miles south of Plum Creek Road.

Troopers found a Chevrolet Silverado pickup and a Toyota Camry involved. Investigators said the Silverado was traveling north in the left southbound lane when it struck the center concrete barrier and veered into the right lane, where it hit the Camry, which was traveling south in the right southbound lane. The Silverado driver, a 56-year-old man from Cheyenne, Wyoming, suffered serious injuries and was taken to a hospital. The Camry driver, a 36-year-old man from Aurora, Colorado, was checked by paramedics at the scene and refused transport.

Both vehicles sustained significant damage, and southbound I-25 was closed while investigators worked the crash. The interstate later reopened, with one traffic report placing the reopening at about 6:53 a.m. The disruption hit one of the county’s most heavily traveled routes, the stretch of I-25 that carries Douglas County commuters through Castle Rock and past Crystal Valley Parkway every weekday.

The crash also fit a broader pattern state troopers say is getting worse. Colorado State Patrol said it responded to 116 crashes involving wrong-way drivers in 2024, a 19.5% increase from 2023, and had already handled 58 such crashes in 2025 when it issued its warning. Col. Matthew C. Packard said these collisions can be especially severe and urged drivers to stay alert and report wrong-way vehicles immediately with location and direction details.

For drivers using I-25 through Douglas County, the warning is blunt: a wrong-way vehicle can appear with little warning and leave almost no time to react. State Patrol says motorists should steer right if possible, avoid hard braking if it could trigger another crash, create distance, and call 911 once safe.