The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its preliminary findings regarding the devastating 26-vehicle pileup in the Green River Tunnel on Interstate 80, which resulted in three fatalities on February 14, 2025. The report indicates that a pickup truck losing control as it exited the westbound tunnel initiated the chain of events leading to the catastrophic crash.
According to the NTSB’s preliminary report, the incident began when a 2006 Toyota Tundra pickup truck, traveling in the left lane, lost control just as it emerged from the westbound tunnel outside Green River. The crash occurred at approximately 11:33 a.m. that day, with snow having fallen earlier. Although the sky was clear at the time, slush and ice may have been present near the tunnel exit. The variable speed limit was set to 55 mph, a reduction from the previous night’s 65 mph.
As the Toyota exited the tunnel, it spun to the left, colliding with a metal guardrail. The vehicle subsequently traveled west and came to a stop about 150 feet from the tunnel exit, blocking the right lane and part of the left lane. The driver of the Toyota survived the initial incident, the report states.
A 2024 Peterbilt commercial truck with a 2016 Great Dane semitrailer then attempted to avoid the stopped Toyota. The Peterbilt driver struck the left side of the tunnel but regained control, avoided hitting the Toyota, and stopped on the right shoulder approximately 450 feet west of the tunnel exit.
A 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, also traveling in the left lane, noticed the stopped Toyota and braked. The Jeep began to spin, striking the metal guardrail and curb near the tunnel exit before careening northwest across both lanes and coming to rest on the hillside off the road’s right shoulder.
Shortly afterward, a 2020 Volvo VNL semitrailer with a 2020 Wabash 53-foot-long semitrailer was traveling west in the right lane. The Volvo driver braked upon seeing the Toyota, causing the combination vehicle to jackknife inside the tunnel, blocking both the left and right lanes approximately 200 feet before the exit, the report says.
A 2012 Dodge Ram pickup, traveling in the left lane and occupied by four people, then struck the Volvo’s truck tractor. At the same moment, a 2019 Freightliner Cascadia truck with a 2023 Wabash 53-foot-long semitrailer steered into the left lane, hit the tunnel wall, and collided with the Dodge.
The entangled Freightliner and Dodge continued west, re-impacted the Volvo’s truck-tractor, exited the tunnel, struck the Toyota, and came to rest after hitting the rear of the Peterbilt. Several vehicles collided inside the tunnel following these impacts, and a post-crash fire ensued, according to the report.
Two occupants of the Dodge died as a result. A driver of a truck-tractor and semitrailer combination vehicle died in the fire, as well. Twenty other individuals sustained varying degrees of injuries.
As of Tuesday, Sweetwater County Attorney Danny Erramouspe stated he had not yet received all the information necessary to determine potential criminal culpability in the crash. The NTSB is continuing its investigation in collaboration with the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Wyoming Highway Patrol, and the Wyoming Department of Transportation. The NTSB aims to determine the probable cause and issue safety recommendations to avoid similar incidents.
