Multi-Car Crash Closes I-70 East Of Silverthorne
SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) -- A multi-car crash shut down Interstate 70 just east of Silverthorne Wednesday. The four-car crash in the westbound lanes sparked a small fire, CBS4's Matt Kroschel reported. The driver of a semi truck had minor injuries, Colorado State Patrol officials said.
"Interstate is closed in both directions. It will be a while," Kroschel said.
A tractor-trailer carrying a load of lentil beans collided with three other vehicles as it was coming down I-70 from the Eisenhower Tunnel, about a mile east of the Silverthorne exit. The truck overturned and dumped its load at the Ptarmigan Ranch Road overpass.
Summit Fire & EMS treated the driver and transported him to St. Anthony Summit Medical Center in Frisco.
Three engines and a water tender were involved in extinguishing the fire and performing initial cleanup, supported by a hazardous-materials team from the High Country Training Center in Frisco. In all, about 24 firefighters and medics from Summit Fire were involved, as well as officers from the Colorado State Patrol, the Silverthorne and Dillon police and crews from the Colorado Department of Transportation. The westbound lanes will be closed from the Eisenhower Tunnel to the Silverthorne exit for a while yet during cleanup.
The eastbound lanes reopened at about 5:50 p.m. One westbound lane briefly reopened at about 6 p.m. to allow motorists stuck behind the closure to pass through.
[contact-form][contact-field label="Name" type="name" required="true" /][contact-field label="Email" type="email" required="true" /][contact-field label="Website" type="url" /][contact-field label="Message" type="textarea" /][/contact-form]