Trucker Who Lost Brakes Rolled His Big Rig On Runaway Ramp

Colorado police say that a truck driver survived a terrifying ordeal on Vail Pass last night.

The incident happened around 10 p.m. on Wednesday, August 21, on the west side of Vail Pass.

Colorado State Police say that a truck driver hauling cartons of milk lost his brakes coming down the west side of Vail Pass on I-70 and attempted to use the runway truck ramp at mile marker 182.

The trucker crashed and rolled his semi in the attempt to use the runaway ramp, leaving the area covered in milk cartons.

Eagle County Paramedic Services responded to the crash and said that they treated the driver at the scene for minor injuries.

The incident happened less than a week after Colorado transportation officials announced a new program designed to help truckers to navigate the I-70 Mountain Corridor without losing their brakes.

This new initiative, dubbed  “The Mountain Rules”, came in the wake of a high profile quadruple fatality pileup crash that happened on I-70 near Lakewood in April 2019 in which a truck driver who lost his brakes appears to have bypassed runaway truck ramps prior to the crash.