Six-vehicle pileup sends semi off overpass
The Colorado State Patrol (CSP) says that multiple vehicles were involved in a collision that sent a semi truck plummeting off of an overpass into a ravine below.
CSP says that they responded to the crash around 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, January 3, on southbound Highway E-470 at East 120th Avenue in Brighton, according to a report from the Denver Channel.
Troopers say that a semi truck was involved in a six vehicle chain reaction crash, which led to the truck crashing over a barrier wall and off of an overpass, falling and coming to rest upside down in a ravine near an irrigation canal.
Authorities say that it took a “major, major extrication” to get the truck driver out of the wrecked rig. He was life-flighted to a nearby hospital. The nature of the truck driver’s injuries is still unknown, but local reporters did say that they spotted the truck driver moving after he was extricated.
Semitruck rolls down embankment, closing E-470 in Adams County https://t.co/lxriv33MXI pic.twitter.com/UMfOBqVtK1
— Channel 2 KWGN (@channel2kwgn) January 3, 2019
It isn’t clear at this time whether anyone else was injured.
The incident shut down all lanes of Highway E-470 for hours. As of 1 p.m., all northbound lanes of Highway E-470 had reopened but the southbound lanes remain closed. A diesel fuel spill is slowing down efforts to reopen the road. You can follow E470 Road Updates on Twitter for the latest road closure information.
Those cars and trucks aren’t moving at E-470/I-76 interchange. Rollover crash at 120th has 470 closed in both directions. Driver of semi has been extracted by @BrightonFire. Diesel spill will take a while to clean up. pic.twitter.com/ONATG1LiVy
— Adams County Gov’t (@adamscountygov) January 3, 2019
Heavy traffic backups have been reported in the area.
The crash remains under investigation.