MINERAL COUNTY, Colo. — A semi-truck driver died after crashing off the road on Wolf Creek Pass on Monday and the initial investigation shows that he had been speeding on the steep and winding mountain road, according to Colorado State Patrol (CSP).
At 8:21 a.m. Monday, CSP responded to a crash on Wolf Creek Pass along Highway 60, about 17 miles north of Pagosa Springs.
When they arrived at the scene, which was southbound near milepost 161, they found that a 2020 Freightliner, hauling a trailer with canned drinks, had crashed off the side of the highway and tumbled partially down the mountainside.
CSP troopers determined that the driver, who had been headed downhill, had hit the barrier wall on the right side of the road, bounced off, rolled through the guardrail on the left side of the road, and crashed down the steep embankment, the agency said.
The driver, a 23-year-old from New York, was ejected from the cab of the truck, CSP said. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The vehicle was destroyed. CDOT used a plow to clear the cargo and debris that had spilled on the road.
Based on CSP's initial investigation, the driver had been speeding and smoke was coming from the vehicle's brakes. The driver did not take a runaway truck ramp that was about 1.5 miles before the crash.
Commercial trucks are required to remain at or below the speed limit of 25 mph. The driver's speed in this crash is not yet known.
Crews are continuing to work to recover the semi and trailer down the slope.
The Colorado State Patrol Vehicular Crimes Unit is handling this investigation. CDOT and CSP's Hazmat Unit are also helping with the cleanup.
Several other agencies responded to this crash as well, including the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Pagosa Fire Protection District, Pagosa Springs EMS, Mineral County Sheriff’s Office, Mineral County Search and Rescue, Upper San Juan Search and Rescue and Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office.
According to data posted on CDOT's website, 47 semi-truck drivers crashed on the west side of Wolf Creek Pass between 2015 and 2019. Three of those were fatal.
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