Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
A phone tip Wednesday led Pitkin County sheriff’s deputies to an 18-year-old man who admitted to crashing into and damaging the winter closure gate on Maroon Creek Road the day before, a deputy said.
Luke Garrett was charged with leaving the scene of an accident and careless driving and said he was admiring the scenery and never saw the gate until he hit it, Deputy Ryan Voss said.
“He felt really bad,” Voss said, noting that Garrett was not injured. “He was embarrassed.”
The gate on the road’s upvalley lane was sheared completely off the steel pole holding it in the ground about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. The gate had only been closed for the winter since Friday.
Garrett told Voss he’d only moved to the Aspen area about three months ago.
Pitkin County employees were able to weld the gate back together on Wednesday morning, said Brian Pettet, county public works director.