November 29th, 2010 | 
Author: LAKE DILLON, CO – A fiery semi truck accident closed down a highway in Summit County, Colorado for several hours Friday night. A mother and her two children were injured in the collision between the tractor trailer and a passenger car which occurred in the westbound lanes of Interstate 70 near the town of Lake Dillon, CO. The accident area is just west of Denver in the central section of the state, about 165 miles southwest of Cheyenne, Wyoming and about 260 miles north of Taos, New Mexico.
On Friday evening, November 12, an unidentified truck driver was driving west on Interstate 70 traveling through Summit County, CO. The trucking company that owns the 18 wheeler is not known, nor is the cargo and destination of the driver.
The truck accident occurred at around 7:30 p.m. as the semi trailer moved near the town of Lake Dillon, CO. At around mile marker 206 on the interstate the tractor trailer crashed into a Saab sedan driven by a young Colorado mother. Her two young children, an infant and a toddler, were in the car at the time. The crash heavily damaged the smaller vehicle and a fire broke out on the car.
After colliding with the passenger car the tractor trailer continued for a short distance and burst into flames before coming to a stop about a half mile from the site of the initial truck accident. The impact had damaged one of the side saddle gas tanks and the semi spilled approximately 50-100 gallons of diesel fuel on the highway. The fuel also helped to feed the truck fire and flames engulfed the tractor trailer.
The local emergency dispatch center received several 911 calls about the car fire at mile marker 206 and the semi fire at mile marker 205 on I-70. Firefighters and rescue teams rushed to the two burning vehicles and began to battle the flames and help the victims of the truck accident.
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The young mother was wearing her seatbelt and her children were in safety seats at the time of the crash and they were all able to escape the burning car. The three received minor injuries and were treated at the site of the truck accident and then released.
The truck driver also was able to escape the burning cab section of his semi and was not seriously injured in the truck accident.
Police shut down several westbound lanes on the interstate while the firefighters battled the two blazes. Once the fires were extinguished a Haz-mat team cleaned up the fuel spill, using materials to dam up the fuel and keep it from getting into the ground and nearby water systems. Other crews worked to clear the debris and remove the wreckage of the two burnt vehicles from the traffic lanes. The Saab and semi trailer were both destroyed in the fiery truck accident.
The westbound lanes of I-70 were reopened at about 9:00 p.m. Friday night, about an hour and a half after the truck accident.
Police reconstructed the crash and interviewed several people. According to some of the witnesses, the semi trailer appeared to be going at an excessive speed just before the truck accident. It is not known at this time if drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash. The weather was clear and the road was dry at the time of the collision.
No charges or citations have been brought at this time, pending the completion of the truck accident investigation.
For more information about Colorado trucking laws, truck injury causes and victims’ rights, contact truck accident lawyers Gordon, Elias & Seely, LLP for expert truck accident advice. Visit our CO truck accident lawyer page for more information about Colorado truck accidents. For a free initial consultation, talk to a truck accident attorney at 1.800.773.6770.
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