Adams County sends warning to drivers after vehicles fall into sinkholes

Flood warnings in place for creeks and streams on Colorado's Eastern Plains

Safety managers in Adams County are sending out a warning after two different incidents in recent days in which drivers disobeyed road closure signs and wound up falling into sinkholes. It comes after historic rainfall has led to street flooding and washouts in some spots in the eastern parts of the county, which lie on Colorado's less populated Eastern Plains.

One of those incidents happened on Penrith Road not far from 144th Avenue in an unincorporated part of the county. County workers captured photos showing a pickup truck stuck with its back tires dangling into a hole where a chunk of road above a creek is missing.

Adams County
Adams County

Adams County officials in a Friday news release called the amount of precipitation they had in June "incredible."

"The run-off from these storms is causing flooding, erosion, and sinkholes along our storm ditches and in our roadways," they said, and warned that disobeying road closure signs could lead to a highly dangerous situation.

In Watkins in the southern part of the county on Friday morning CBS Colorado's helicopter captured images of cars stuck in floodwaters.

CBS

While the county is working hard to close off roads where streams and creeks are overflowing, it's a big job and they are asking anyone who encounters such road flooding to contact their emergency communications office at 303-288-1535.

Drivers should always turn around and not drive through floodwaters because it's not always clear how deep the water is and they could get stranded. Driving through high water can also cause long term damage to a vehicle.

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