Fatal semi crash closes I-70 in Summit County for hours; three dead, including child

SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – Colorado State Patrol (CSP) is investigating a tragic early-morning crash that left two adults and a child dead, shutting down westbound I-70 for most of Sunday.

CSP said at around 5:42 a.m. on Oct. 12, it responded to a deadly crash in Summit County involving a single vehicle, a semi, that had crashed on westbound I-70 near milepost 208. Initial reports indicated the semi had gone off the right side of the road and crashed before catching fire.

Though the extensive damage to the vehicle initially made it difficult for responders to tell how many people were inside, CSP later confirmed there were three people inside the semi. All three were pronounced dead at the scene.

Those passengers included a 9-year-old girl from Jacksonville, Florida, and an adult male (39) and female (37) from Deming, New Mexico, CSP said.

In a later update, CSP said an investigation into the crash revealed the Freightliner Cascadia semi, which had a trailer attached, had gone off the right side of the road when approaching a curve. The semi had come back onto the road and struck the concrete center barrier between lanes before rolling across the road and catching on fire.

The semi came to a stop on the roadway, blocking all lanes of travel. Photos of the crash shared by CSP show a large amount of dog food spilling out of the trailer, and debris piled on the side of the road.

Westbound lanes of I-70 remained closed for the majority of the day as investigators processed the scene and cleared debris. The highway was reopened around 6 p.m.

CSP is now asking anyone who witnessed the crash and has not yet spoken to investigators to contact Colorado State Patrol Dispatch at (970) 249-4392 and reference VC250372.

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