MORGAN COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) – Deputies in Morgan County have arrested a teen accused of leading them on a high-speed chase and attempting to run down a state trooper.

According to the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, Christopher M. Chacanaca was taken into custody and faces numerous felony and traffic charges for the pursuit which began in the Hillrose area just after 5 p.m. on Saturday.

A deputy in Log Lane Village reported that he was in pursuit of a red car on Highway 6 north of Interstate 76.

“The vehicle was reportedly driving in excess of 100 miles per hour and driving into oncoming traffic,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

The car entered I-76 the chase continued westbound “at speeds still in excess of 100 mph.”

“Colorado State Patrol Master Trooper John Takahashi was able to successfully deploy stop-sticks near mile marker 86. As Trooper Takahashi deployed the stop-sticks, the driver of the car attempted to run down the trooper, however he was not injured.”

(credit: CBS)

The suspect’s car slowed due to a flat tire and deputies were able to perform a Pursuit Intervention Technique (PIT) maneuver to stop the vehicle near Barlow Road on I-76.

“The driver and only occupant of the vehicle was forcibly removed from his vehicle and arrested without further incident. Neither the suspect nor any officers sustained any injuries and there was minor damage to two sheriff’s vehicles.”

Chacanaca, from Pueblo, faces charges of attempted second-degree murder and vehicular homicide, vehicular assault and vehicular eluding

“Reports indicate Chacanaca was possibly attempting to commit ‘suicide by cop.’ ”

Some other vehicles were involved in an accident behind the pursuit but nobody was seriously injured.

A grass fire caused by the suspect driving on a rim was quickly put out by the Fort Morgan Fire Department.

LOVELAND PASS, Colo. (CBS4) – Two of the most avalanche prone areas on Colorado highways are getting a multi-million dollar fix from the Colorado Department of Transportation.

“We were just putting so many explosives up on that mountain we needed to come up with a different method, a safer method,” said Ray Mumford, a Project Inspector and former CDOT Avalanche Mitigation Team member.

The system is called Gazex and uses propane and air to create an explosion above the snow surface and causing a small avalanche.

(credit: CBS)

“The explosion of those gases puts downward pressure on the snowpack and thus releasing the avalanche,” said Mumford.

State officials feel it can be a more reliable and safer way to clear snow from above highways. Currently explosives are fired at slide paths from hundreds of yards away. It’s a very dangerous process that has resulted in accidents.

(credit: CBS)

Now crews are working against the weather to complete projects in the Seven Sisters slide path above Highway 6 near Loveland Pass and also on Berthoud Pass at the Stanley Slide area.

“We’ve brought people in from Canada and France to look at what would work the best on this and did different studies,” said Mumford. “Fire these on a more frequent basis and release more avalanches on a smaller scale that we won’t be putting as much snow on the road so that road won’t be closed as long.”

(credit: CBS)

The state says both projects are costing about $1.5 million, but after completion, maintenance will include refueling the system once every summer.

“The goal for us in forecasting is to release small avalanches so you never really build up a snowpack that will release a large avalanche. We’re going to be doing that through frequent use of this,” said Dr. Ethan Greene with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, a partner with CDOT in avalanche mitigation throughout the state. “Success is going to be an overall reduction in road closures.”

LINK: Colorado Avalanche Information Center

Jeff Todd joined the CBS4 team in 2011 covering the Western Slope in the Mountain Newsroom. Since 2015 he’s been working across the Front Range in the Denver Headquarters. Follow him on Twitter @CBS4Jeff.

Eastbound US 6 to I-25

Both ramps from eastbound US 6 to Interstate 25 will close for the weekend Friday, October 9^th at 10 p.m. and not reopen until Monday at 5 a.m.

The ramps from Federal Boulevard to eastbound US 6 and from eastbound US 6 to Federal Boulevard have been closed since Monday and will reopen at the same time.

Not only will this place eastbound US 6  drivers in their final configuration, but the Lowell Boulevard on-ramp to eastbound US 6 will also reopen.

Monday morning eastbound US 6 drivers wanting to access I-25 will enter new, collector-distributor lanes near the Federal Bridge. Drivers wanting to access I-25 from Federal will no longer have to get onto US 6, but will instead join exiting traffic on these new collector-distributor lanes.

During the ramp closures the easiest way to access I-25 will be from Alameda or Colfax.

32^nd Avenue, Wadsworth to Kipling

In Westminster, paving work will close 32^nd Avenue from Wadsworth to Kipling both Saturday, October 10^th and Sunday, October 11^th from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Your alternates are W 38^th and W 26^th Avenues.

Westbound US 36, Interlocken Loop to McCaslin Boulevard

Starting 10 p.m. Sunday, October 11^th into Monday at 4 a.m. westbound US 36 will close from Interlocken Loop to McCaslin Boulevard so crews can install new overhead signage.

The detour will take you off US 36 at Interlocken Loop to 96^th to Dillon Road then southbound on McCaslin to access back onto US 36.

Joel Hillan is CBS4’s Traffic Specialist and is featured on the CBS4 Morning News. Follow Joel on Twitter @joelhillan.

GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4) – A stretch of eastbound U.S. 6 in Golden had to be closed Sunday afternoon for the investigation of a road rage incident that led to an off-duty officer firing his gun.

The off-duty officer called 911 to report a road rage incident at approximately 2 p.m. occurring between a motorcyclist and the driver of a white Nissan sedan.

“The off-duty officer asked the 911 center if he should attempt to make a traffic stop for our agency,” police spokesperson Karlyn Tilley said in a statement. “The dispatcher asked if the officer was in a marked unit, but before the question could be answered the phone was dropped and a female got on the line asking for police officers.”

(credit: CBS)

Tilley said the woman then told the dispatcher “that her husband had ‘just shot him.'”

Golden police officers quickly arrived where the incident occurred at 19th Street and 6th Avenue.

“Early information obtained indicates that the off-duty officer approached the individual driving the motorcycle on foot and identified himself with his badge,” Tilley said.

The motorcyclist did not believe he was dealing with a real officer.

“The off-duty officer was armed with a handgun. A short struggle ensued and a single shot was fired into the front end of the motorcycle. The individual on the motorcycle was not hit, but did have minor injuries to his hand from flying debris.”

(credit: CBS)

“A bullet, reportedly fired by the off-duty police officer, cracked the cover of a motorcycle’s gas tank,” Cpt. Joe Harvey with Golden Police told CBS4’s Howard Nathan.

Golden police are trying to verify whether a hand gesture played a role.

“There might have been some hand gesturing by the person on the motorcycle indicating that he had a gun, he was kind of using two fingers, and so that might’ve been one of the issues that had the officer concerned,” said Harvey.

The motorcyclist is Jeremy Golden, 31, of Denver. The officer is from 47-year-old Patric Stanton of the Central City Police Department. Both are named subjects of the investigation.

Golden police are calling the incident an ongoing criminal investigation.

Eastbound lanes of U.S. 6 had to be closed between the Colorado State Highway 58 and 119 junction and 19th Street in Golden for the investigation. One westbound lane was closed at 19th Street as well.

EAGLE, Colo. (CBS4) – A Gypsum man has been arrested in connection with a crash that killed another driver.

According to the 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Anthony Eugene Chase, 47, of Gypsum has been charged with vehicular homicide, reckless driving, DUI and tampering with evidence for a July 23 accident on Highway 6 in Eagle County.

“According to police reports Chase was allegedly driving a Mack truck westbound on Highway 6 near milepost No. 156 when the construction pumper truck crossed the center line at 5:21 p.m. and struck a white Chevy van driven by Sergio Ordonez-Morales,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement.

Ordonez-Morales, 29, later died at Vail Valley Medical Center from injuries received in the crash.

“The regularity of crashes resulting in death that involved intoxicated drivers is disturbing,” District Attorney Bruce Brown said in a statement. “The charge here is very serious and could result in a lengthy prison sentence.”

Chase was released Friday on a $15,000 bond. He has a bond review hearing on Nov. 17.

Additional Information From The 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Office

There are several recent and pending cases involving vehicular homicide / assault in the Fifth Judicial District including:

• June 2015 – Hugo Castillo-Marquez of Avon, Colorado was sentenced to two years in the Department of Corrections for vehicular homicide in the death of a local woman who was a passenger in Castillo’s car on August 21, 2014.

• May 2015 – Emanuel Villeda of Pueblo was sentenced to twelve years in prison for vehicular homicide / DUI in connection with a June, 2014 crash that led to the death of one man and the paralysis of another.

• February 2015 – Michael Glass was sentenced to five years probation and a jail term of three-hundred and sixty days for injuring a pedestrian and leaving the scene of an accident in Avon on December 9, 2013 that left the victim with a compound leg fracture.
Pending Cases:

• Steven Gravatt, 55, of Blue River, Colorado was charged in September for the hit-and-run death of a woman in Breckenridge in late August 2015. Gravatt has a preliminary hearing on November 4th @ 1:30 pm;

• Hallie Schmitt, 25, of Dillon was charged with vehicular assault related to a hit-and-run accident in Breckenridge in December 2014. Schmitt has a motions hearing on November 23 @ 11 am;

• John Althouse, 34, of Vail pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide (reckless driving) and driving under the influence (DUI) in September. Althouse was sentenced to 6 years in DoC with five years suspended and one-year mandatory parole.

GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4)– A box truck rolled into Clear Creek on Wednesday morning but investigators do not believe that weather played a role.

Copter4 flew over the truck as crews were pulling it out of the creek. Highway 6 west of Golden was closed during the recovery and removal of the truck.

The Colorado State Patrol said the driver was not paying attention and drove off the road into the water.

GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4) – A rock slide closed Highway 6 through Clear Creek Canyon on Tuesday but it has since reopened.

The rock slide happened a few miles west of Golden on Tuesday morning. The rock slide closed Highway 6 between Golden and the Highway 119 junction near Black Hawk.

Copter4 flew over a rock slide that closed Highway 6 west of Golden in Clear Creek Canyon on Tuesday (credit: CBS)

Copter4 flew over the rock slide where the rocks had fallen and completely covered one lane of traffic.

No one was trapped and no one was hurt in the slide.

(credit: CBS)

Colorado Department of Transportation crews took several hours to clear the rocks. Crews also evaluated the stability of the hillside.

Highway 6 closed west of Golden due to rock slide (credit: CBS)

EAGLE COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4)– A driver survived after flipping into a river in Eagle County and submerging the vehicle on Monday night.

Eagle River Firefighters rushed to the river near the River Run Apartments off Highway 6 east of EagleVail. When firefighters arrived the found the vehicle but no one was inside.

(credit: Eagle River Fire Protection District)

The driver was able to escape the vehicle and taken to Vail Valley Medical Center. The extent of the driver’s injuries is unknown.

(credit: Eagle River Fire Protection District)

Crews hooked up the car to cables so it could be towed up the road. The retrieval of the 4-door sedan took nearly three hours with help from Vail Firefighters, Colorado State Patrol and Eagle County first responders.

(credit: Eagle River Fire Protection District)

Crews were prepared for the rescue because they had been conducting swift water rescue training over the past several weeks.

GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4)– Investigators with the Colorado State Patrol say drinking and driving led to a deadly crash in Clear Creek Canyon.

Troopers say the car went off of Highway 6 and into the water in Clear Creek early Monday.

One person was killed and two others hurt in the crash.

(credit: Colorado State Patrol)

By Matt Kroschel

SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) – A semi-truck hauling beer rolled off a runaway truck ramp and down an embankment on Highway 6 Tuesday morning.

The truck struck two vehicles and left three people hurt, one seriously. Two of those hurt are Arapahoe Basin Ski Area employees. The crash closed Loveland Pass.

(credit: Lake Dillon Fire Rescue)

The crash happened just before 8 a.m. near mile marker 219 on Highway 6 over Loveland Pass. The pass was closed to traffic during the accident cleanup and investigation.

Initial reports show the trailer rolled and covered the westbound lanes when it was struck by two other passenger vehicles. Those vehicles also went down an embankment.

“The thing was sideways across the road and just knocking those cars those cars off in the ditch,” a witness said. “So pretty crazy.”

The truck was hauling cases of Michelob Ultra.

With the rollover, the Colorado Department of Transportation instituted a commercial truck closure that forced traffic over Loveland Pass instead of through the Eisenhower Tunnel.

It’s not uncommon for semis to crash on high country passes.

“Guys lose their brakes … they had everyone coming over Loveland for the bridge construction on I-70 and this guy has never been through the mountains before,” said Larry Lewarj with Ski Country Towing said. “This is what happens.”

The Colorado State Patrol is investigating but believe speed was a factor in the crash.

Emergency responders said it’s lucky nobody was killed in the crash.

No names have been released.

Matt Kroschel covers news throughout Colorado working from the CBS4 Mountain Newsroom. Send story ideas to mrkroschel@cbs.com and connect with him on Twitter @Matt_Kroschel.

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GENESEE PARK, Colo. (CBS4)– Crews made contact with an injured hiker in Genesee Park about three hours after she called for help on Friday night.

Crews totalling more than 40 people had been searching for the woman in her mid-to-late 20s since 6:45 p.m. Friday in the Chief Hosa exit between Interstate 70 and Highway 6.

They finally made contact with her just after 10 p.m. Friday and believed they would reach her soon.

The woman, who has not been identified, was alone on a trail and fell. She had been texting with her husband until her phone went silent.

Authorities worked to determine her location by triangulating her cell phone but it was difficult because of spotty cell service in the area.

Searchers used night vision while looking for the woman. The trail is not considered a technical hike but has a lot of elevation change.

Crews remain hopeful they will bring the woman down from the trail on Friday night.

ARAPAHOE BASIN, Colo. (CBS4) – Arapahoe Basin Ski Area is preparing to open Wednesday afternoon.

The Colorado Department of Transportation is getting ready to reopen Highway 6 over Loveland Pass, according to A-Basin’s blog. Following that opening, the ski area will open with extremely limited services.

“We plan on opening the Pallavicini Lift and Black Mountain Express for the afternoon,” they posted. “Come up and enjoy.”

Arapahoe Basin closed Tuesday afternoon due to avalanche mitigation work, and hazardous conditions on the highway, and did not reopen Wednesday morning.

GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4) – A car found in Clear Creek will stay there because of the high and fast-moving water.

The car was found there, and Highway 6 from Golden was shut down for several hours Friday as rescue crews investigated.

Firefighters checked, but no one was found in the car.

(credit: Golden Fire Rescue)

(credit: Golden Fire Rescue)

The car will be recovered later, once the water slows and it’s safe, which will close the highway again when that happens.

No date has yet been set for the recovery.

GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4) – Highway 6 through Clear Creek Canyon will close for a car to be removed from the water.

Colorado State Patrol says that the highway will be shut down from approximately 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday.

The car was found in the creek Friday.

Firefighters checked the vehicle, but no one was located in the car.

(credit: Golden Fire Rescue)

GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4) – Emergency crews on Monday afternoon recovered a body found in Clear Creek west of Golden.

The recovery operation on Monday afternoon (credit: CBS)

Investigators believe the body is tied to a car that crashed into the creek last Thursday night. Initial searches did not find a body in that car.

The body on Monday was found almost a mile downstream from where the car was found.

(credit: CBS)

Highway 6 through Clear Creek Canyon was shut down in the early afternoon when the recovery operation started.

(credit: CBS)

It remained closed at 3 p.m. on Monday.

GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4) – Highway 6 in Clear Creek Canyon will close Wednesday to remove a car found in the water.

The car was spotted in the water at the end of June.

(credit: Golden Fire Rescue)

(credit: Golden Fire Rescue)

Rescue crews investigated, but no one was in the car. A body was later found in the creek nearby.

Due to the high and fast-moving water, it was decided to leave the car in there until conditions were safer.

Colorado State Patrol tweeted Monday that the highway will be closed at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday while the removal is conducted.

It is unknown how long that will take, but they will post updates on their account when the road reopens.

GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4) – Crews completed a tricky water rescue operation in Jefferson County on Wednesday.

(credit: CBS)

Crews shut down Highway 6 west of Golden so they could pull a car out of Clear Creek.

(credit: CBS)

The vehicle crashed into the water last month. The driver’s body was recovered a few days later, but at the time it was too dangerous to retreive the car.

CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4)– A crash between a casino tour bus and SUV caused some traffic delays along Highway 6 in Clear Creek Canyon on Tuesday morning.

The bus and SUV collided in the canyon west of Golden about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

(credit: Colorado State Patrol)

The highway was closed for about two hours in the area during the crash investigation and cleanup.

There were minor injuries.

(credit: Colorado State Patrol)

The highway reopened before noon.

(credit: Colorado State Patrol)

What happened leading up to the crash is being investigated but Colorado State Patrol spokesman Josh Lewis says troopers believe the SUV to be at fault.

(credit: Colorado State Patrol)