(MINERAL COUNTY, Colo.) — A semi truck driver died after the truck he was driving went off the side of Highway 160 and down the mountainside in Wolf Creek Pass on Monday, Nov. 3.
According to the Colorado State Patrol (CSP), troopers responded shortly before 8:30 a.m. on Monday to a crash involving a semi truck hauling a trailer full of canned drinks. Initial information indicated that the semi had gone off the road and down the mountainside about 17 miles north of Pagosa Springs.
According to CSP, the 2020 Freightliner truck was heading southbound on Hwy 160 when it hit the barrier wall on the right side and bounced off. The semi then rolled through the guardrail on the left side of the road and down a steep embankment. CSP said the semi’s trailer split open prior to rolling down the side of the mountain and spilled its cargo on the roadway.
Both the cab and the trailer were destroyed rolling down the mountain. When troopers arrived, they were not immediately able to locate the driver in the large debris scene down the mountain.
Eventually, the driver, a 23-year-old man from New York, was located and pronounced dead. CSP said investigators confirmed he had been thrown from the cab.
According to CSP, the initial investigation revealed the semi was travelling at a high speed when it hit the right side barrier, and that smoke was coming from the brakes. CSP said the driver did not take the runaway truck ramp 1.5 miles before the crash.
Due to the cargo spilled on the highway, the Colorado Department of Transportation had to use a plow to clear the road. The highway is not closed; however, CSP said the recovery of the truck and trailer is expected to take an extended period of time.