Colorado DOT lawsuit accuses trucking and escort companies of going off permitted route, causing I-70 bridge strike

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) filed suit against a trucking company and a pilot escort services company for a bridge strike involving an oversized load that took place in 2023.

According to documents filed in Jefferson County District Court on December 4, 2025, CDOT filed a lawsuit against Colorado-based Henderson Heavy Haul Trucking, Inc. (HHH) as well as Fed Up Escorts, LLC (Fed Up) based in Montana.

The lawsuit was filed in response to a bridge strike that occurred on December 8, 2023, on I-70 at mile marker 260 in Golden, Colorado.

Traffic Alert ‼️ @ColoradoDOT & @csp_golden have their hands full with this crash.

Westbound I70 at MP 260’is closed.

Alternate routes advised pic.twitter.com/553cSXtTKV

— CSP Golden (@csp_golden) December 8, 2023

According to the complaint, HHH was hauling an oversized load west on I-70 when it struck the underside of an overpass bridge where C-470 crosses I-70 in Jefferson County.

From documents filed by CDOT:

“CDOT issued a permit to HHH for the oversized load. The permit listed the approved route for the load and required HHH to use a pilot escort vehicle with a height pole for the entire route. Fed Up provided the pilot escort vehicle for the HHH truck. The permitted route required HHH and Fed Up to exit I-70 prior to the C-470 overpass.

HHH exited I-70 according to the specified route but then re-entered I-70 east of the C-470 bridge instead of continuing on the specified route. Additionally, HHH has claimed that the height pole on the Fed Up pilot escort vehicle had struck a bridge earlier on the route but was not properly replaced. The HHH truck struck the C-470 bridge, the truck’s load fell on an adjacent truck, and the HHH truck became wedged under the bridge. CDOT dispatched emergency crews to assess the damage and clean up the crash site. The strike caused extensive damage to the bridge that CDOT had to repair on an emergency schedule.“

CDOT alleges that it has requested compensation for expenses caused by the bridge strike from HHH and/or Fed Up but that neither company has paid for the damage.

CDOT is seeking damages for the costs incurred in repairing the bridge, dispatching emergency crews, and cleaning up the crash site.