LAKEWOOD, Colo. — The driver of a semi that caused a deadly, fiery 28-vehicle crash on I-70 Thursday afternoon will face vehicular homicide charges, authorities said Friday morning.
Ty Countryman with the Colorado Department of Transportation said 24 cars and four semis were involved in the crash, which killed “multiple people,” though an exact number was not yet available.
"That number (of involved vehicles) is significantly higher than what we had last night," he said. "A lot of that is because once the debris of the semis and cars under semis — once we could get in and really start doing a car count, that's why that number really went up."
Six people were taken to the hospital and he did not have an update on their injuries or severity of injuries.
READ MORE: Multiple fatalities, 10 injured following fiery crash involving 11 cars, 4 semis on I-70
An out-of-control semi carrying lumber caused the crash, he said. The driver of that vehicle was taken into custody on multiple counts of vehicular homicide. These charges stem from interviews and evidence gathered overnight, Countryman said. The driver, who was only identified as a man not from Colorado, was injured, but not seriously. There was no evidence of drugs or alcohol in his system, he said. The man will be taken to the Jefferson County Jail after he is discharged from the hospital.
Countryman said the crash occurred around 4:50 p.m. in the eastbound lanes of I-70 near Colorado Mills Parkway.
Because of the large fire and explosions at the site, investigators couldn’t start looking at the devastation until about 10 p.m., when West Metro Fire Rescue was able to extinguish the last of the flames.
Authorities are building evidence from the scene, Countryman said. Investigators are looking into if the semi’s brakes were not working
He said there are still bodies at the crash site and daylight will help with that recovery process.
Josh Laipply, chief engineer with CDOT, said they are going to assess the structural integrity of a bridge right next to the crash on Friday. They haven’t had the chance to get close enough to make a good assessment, he said.
Once the scene is cleared — there are still several vehicles on the roadway — they will inspect the bridge. Preliminary, it looks OK, he said, but they do have major concerns about the pavement. Fixing it could take several hours of work, so the highway may not open until Saturday.
A fire of this magnitude, with temperatures up to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, can seriously damage the roadway, he said.
READ MORE: How to get around the I-70, Colorado Mills Parkway closure for the Friday morning commute
He said CDOT is asking people who see major crashes to not stop their vehicle to take pictures and video.
"I think that we lose sight that vehicles are deadly weapons and all of us get a little careless at times and need to be more careful when we're driving," Laipply said.
https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/semi-driver-arrested-in-fiery-crash-involving-at-least-28-vehicles-on-i-70-highway-wont-reopen-friday
2019-04-26 13:24:00Z
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