Wyoming Tunnel Crash: Pickup Truck’s Loss of Control Caused Fatal Chain Reaction, NTSB Says
GREEN RIVER, Wyo. — Federal investigators have determined that a series of crashes and a subsequent fire within a Wyoming highway tunnel, which resulted in three fatalities, began with a pickup truck losing control. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its findings in a preliminary report on Wednesday.
The incident occurred on February 14th along Interstate 80, a primary east-west transportation corridor through Wyoming near Green River. According to the NTSB, the highway surface was wet, potentially icy or slushy, near the exit of the tunnel. The report details how a westbound Toyota pickup exited the tunnel, spun out of control, and struck a guardrail.
This initial collision blocked the right lane and partially obstructed the left lane of the highway. Other vehicles, exiting the tunnel, attempted to avoid the pickup. A tractor-trailer jackknifed in response, blocking both lanes approximately 200 feet before reaching the tunnel exit.
A Dodge pickup subsequently collided with that jackknifed tractor-trailer, and another tractor-trailer then struck the Dodge pickup. This second tractor-trailer, entangled with the Dodge truck, then hit the jackknifed tractor-trailer again before colliding with the Toyota and another truck outside the tunnel. Several additional vehicles were then involved in a series of collisions inside the tunnel, leading to a post-crash fire.
The NTSB confirmed that two individuals in the Dodge pickup truck died as a result of the crashes. Additionally, the driver of a tractor-trailer inside the tunnel was trapped in the vehicle and perished in the fire. The report also indicated that twenty other people sustained injuries of varying degrees.
The accident took place in the westbound tube of the dual tunnel under Castle Rock, a striking sandstone formation that overlooks Green River in southwest Wyoming.
