About 1.5 miles of westbound Platte Avenue was closed Monday afternoon, from Peterson Road to Powers Boulevard, after a report of a bomb inside a car.

The Cimarron Hills Fire Department originally told The Gazette the department was responding to a “possible bomb threat.” El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Kurt Smith told the media during a briefing that there was no explosive device found within the vehicle.

A man driving southbound on Platte Avenue on Monday morning contacted 911 after he “credibly believed” there was a bomb in his car and then pulled the car over and fled, Smith said. 

The Department of Defense conducted a sweep and a K9 unit inspected the car.

The driver is cooperating with law enforcement and no arrests were announced at the briefing.

Platte Avenue appeared to be fully open by around 2:25 p.m., but there was no confirmation of a reopening by officials.

About a dozen law enforcement vehicles and a fire truck were observed on scene. 

Click or tap here for traffic updates on The Gazette’s interactive map.

Stay with gazettedev.gazette.com for more on this developing story, which will be updated as more information becomes available.