NTSB: Pickup Truck’s Loss of Control Caused Deadly Wyoming Tunnel Crash
GREEN RIVER, Wyo. (AP) — According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), a series of devastating chain-reaction crashes and a subsequent fire in a Wyoming highway tunnel, which claimed three lives earlier this year, were initiated when a pickup truck lost control after exiting the tunnel and partially obstructed the highway.
The incident occurred on February 14th along Interstate 80, a major east-west transport route through Wyoming, near Green River. The highway was wet, with the possibility of ice or slush near the tunnel’s exit. A preliminary report released Wednesday by the NTSB detailed the events leading up to the tragedy.
A westbound Toyota pickup truck exited the tunnel, spun, and collided with a guardrail before coming to a stop. This initial incident blocked the right lane and part of the left lane. Other vehicles, exiting the tunnel, attempted to avoid the disabled Toyota. However, one tractor-trailer jackknifed, effectively blocking both lanes approximately 200 feet before the tunnel’s exit.
A subsequent collision occurred as a Dodge pickup struck the jackknifed tractor-trailer. Another tractor-trailer then hit the Dodge pickup. This second tractor-trailer, intertwined with the Dodge truck, made contact with the jackknifed tractor-trailer a second time before eventually colliding with the Toyota and an additional truck outside the tunnel. Multiple other vehicles then collided within the tunnel itself where a fire erupted.
The crash resulted in the deaths of two individuals in the Dodge pickup truck. Furthermore, the driver of a tractor-trailer inside the tunnel was trapped and perished in the fire. The NTSB reported that an additional twenty people sustained injuries ranging in severity.
The accident took place in the westbound tube of the twin tunnel, located under Castle Rock, a prominent sandstone formation that overlooks Green River in southwest Wyoming.
