Stories of the Third Bridge “Ghost Bridge”
14 miles East of Aurora Co., on County Line Road near Kiowa Creek.
Urban legend has it that out in the open plains off County Line Road is the Third Bridge also known as the “Ghost Bridge”, which lies over the dry bed of Kiowa Creek.
The Urban stories of the Third Bridge say down this road you can hear the beating of drums, sounds of horse hooves on the bridge, as legend has it this land once held an Indian Massacre.
However current stories are sightings of a young girl standing on the bridge seemingly lost and looking for something. Could this be one of the young teenage passengers that passed at the scene of a gruesome crash back in 1997?
As you drive down this one lane dirt road you are surrounded by nothing but open land and an occasional house here or there. You drive over a large hill only to drop down to nothing and suddenly there you are surrounded by the wooded banks of the dried up creek beds of what was known as Kiowa Creek.
Third Bridge is not the original bridge, this bridge was rebuilt in the 1970’s, but off in the distance just a few yards away, you can see the remains of the original bridge.
Indian Massacre
Legend says the Indian Massacre took place when settlers killed men of the tribe and later returned to kill the women and children.
It is said at dusk you can hear faint drumming from the battle drums, and as the night approaches the drumming tends to get louder and louder.
Often you can hear faint screaming off in the distance, they say are from the women and children. Occasionally you can hear horse hooves on the bridge as they are crossing Kiowa Creek.
However the facts of this legend are closer in detail to an Indian Massacre taking place in November of 1864 known as the Sand Creek Massacre (also known as the Chivington Massacre, the Battle of Sand Creek or the Massacre of Cheyenne Indians).
This was a massacre of the Cheyenne and Arapaho people by the US Army in the American Indian Wars that occurred on November 29, 1864, when the Third Colorado Cavalry under the command of US Volunteers Colonel John Chivington, attacked the village of the Cheyenne and Arapaho people. Killing and mutilating an estimated 150 Native Americans, of whom two-thirds were women and children, in the southeastern Colorado Territory.
The Deadly Crash of 1997
On a hot summer night in June 1997, 15 teens aging from 11-17 decided to take two cars down this empty road to the fabled “ghost bridge” to see if the stories are true.
Driving down this one lane dirt road the posted speed limit is 25mph however both cars were reported to have been driving 65-70mph that fateful night.
The first vehicle, a Toyota Sedan, was driven by 16yr old Jessica Hern, when she lost control of the car hitting the guardrail of the bridge.
The car hit the guardrail with such force because of the speed at which Jessica was traveling, it tore the barrier away from the bridge’s deck and the car plunged 15ft into the dry creek bed.
Amongst Jessica Hern who was the driver, was a 14yr old girl, Ashley “Meghan” DeHerrera who died upon impact, 12yr old Tara Moore who later died the next day at the hospital from her injuries, and a 16yr old boy who suffered critical injuries and later recovered from his injuries.
The second car involved, in an attempt to avoid colliding with the first vehicle, lost control coming down the hill and crashed in the nearby trees. Everyone in the second car recovered from their injuries in the days to come.
Days after the accident, friends and family returned to the awful crash site to pick up the pieces and search for lost belongings that were left behind in the creek bed.
It has been reported that the hauntings of the Third Bridge include seeing an apparition of a girl standing near the middle of the bridge. Could this be Ashley DeHerrera the 14yr old who so fatefully lost her life that awful summer night?
Reports say that alcohol was involved and several of the teens who only suffered minor injuries, confessed to the officers at the scene that awful night that they threw the alcohol into the nearby bushes.
However, both drivers of the cars involved did not have a blood-alcohol content on the tests to show that they had been drinking that night.
One thing is for certain that the story of this awful summer crash that took the life of two young girls is to be true. You can read more about the accident on that summer night in this article here.
Due to the deadly crash that summer in June of 1997 and so many other close encounters on that road, in December of 1997, road crews took 12ft off the top of the once 50ft hill, in hopes of making the road safer in the future.
Our night at the Third Bridge “Ghost Bridge”
The pictures below were taken roughly 8-9 years ago. We did not hear any of the drums as some have reported and did not see an apparitions, however we did some good orbs.
I apologize, the first picture is blurry as we were driving when I decided to finally take out my camera (hey as I mentioned we are amateurs, and it was our first actual ghost adventure.).
Once we made it down the hill we stopped just off the side of the road as it was still daylight out and it is a residential road so we wanted to stay clear of any traffic that may still come.
As soon as dark approached we parked our car right on the bridge and sat there for quite some time just listening to see if we can hear any drumming, horse hooves, or screaming.
Even though we did not hear anything it is very peaceful out there.
After letting the dust settle for over 10mins. we made sure there was no wind or even a slight breeze and started snapping pictures.
These pictures were taken while sitting in the car before my husband and daughter got out to start looking around.
Once they were out of the car I stopped taking pictures as the bridge is covered in dirt from the road, so we did not want to take pictures at this time to debunk any orbs for dust particles.
We hope to visit again soon!
If you have visited this site, please comment, and share your stories and pictures with us as we would love to hear them.
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Spirits-Food and Booze
Spirits-Food and Booze was created with love, and ideas from each one of us. We love to share our ideas, crafts, recipes, fun times, and experiences. We are amateur ghost hunters, foodies, crafters, and all around enjoy having a good time. We hope you enjoy our site and come back for more!