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I-70 reopens after fiery crash west of Denver

By No User May 17, 2024 | updated 1 year ago

MORRISON, Colo. — Interstate 70 was closed in both directions for much of the day Thursday near Morrison after a deadly crash involving a passenger vehicle and a tanker that was broken down along the westbound shoulder.

The crash happened around 9:30 a.m. on westbound I-70 at mile marker 259.5. The Colorado State Patrol said the tanker overheated and was parked on the right shoulder when the car crashed into it, causing a fire that engulfed both vehicles. It’s not clear at this point why the driver crashed.

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CSP said the driver of the car died in the crash. The driver of the tanker was taken to the hospital, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said.

The fire spread into the grass along the interstate.

I-70 was closed in both directions between Exit 254 – US 40 and Genesee and Exit 260 – 6th Avenue, for several hours after the crash. The eastbound lanes reopened around 4:30 p.m. The westbound lanes reopened about two hours later.

It took crews more than an hour to extinguish the fire.

“With both fire suppression, potential patient care, hazardous materials, managing traffic, vegetation fire, this scene quickly became a fairly complex incident that required a lot of resources,” said Brady Johnson, public information officer for the Arvada Fire Department.

More than 15 agencies were on scene battling various aspects of the incident. Among them were the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and various hazmat units specifically tackling the 9,000 gallons of diesel fuel the tanker was holding that began spilling on the road, close to main waterways.

Containment booms were promptly deployed on both sides of the highway to absorb the fuel. Additionally, they stationed a front-end loader on one side to capture any excess fuel.

If the diesel had gotten into the water, the spill could have flowed downstream and been detrimental to Bear Creek Lake Park. Lakewood Park staff also preemptively put down containment booms at the lake, but didn’t end up needing them.

Hazmat units safely pumped out 8,000 gallons of fuel remaining in the tanker. The EPA tested the waterways down to Bear Creek Lake and reported no remnants of diesel.

Crews hauled out the tanker and cleared the scene around 6 p.m.

For more on this story, and others, visit The Denver Gazette news partners 9NEWS.com. 

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