Fort Lupton, CO : Driver dies after semitrailer crash near Fort Lupton on Wednesday morning, April 13, 2016

In the early pre-dawn hours of Wednesday morning, a semitrailer hauling industrial equipment pulled out onto U.S. 85 and was struck by another semitrailer heading north on the highway, leaving one driver dead at the scene.

The crash was called in at 4:37 a.m., and when emergency responders arrived — just south of Fort Lupton on the popular trucking highway near Weld County Road 8 — they found two semitrailers had collided, said Fort Lupton Fire Protection District Chief Phil Tiffany.

The semitrailer that pulled out from Weld 8 onto the highway was hauling a flatbed with industrial equipment; the semitrailer headed north on U.S. 85 was a fuel tanker hauling about 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel.

The crash tore off a valve and piping from the fuel tank, dumping the entire load of diesel fuel, Tiffany said.

“The entire product (diesel fuel) has leaked onto the ground. There’s nothing left in the truck,” he said. “The leak has been controlled; it’s not endangering any water supply or anything else. It’s being controlled right here at the intersection.”

The driver of the fuel tanker died on the scene, said Fort Lupton Police Chief Ken Poncelow. Officials will not release more information about the driver until next of kin have been notified.

The driver of the other semitrailer was taken to a hospital in unknown condition.

Officials closed U.S. 85 to northbound traffic starting at Weld County Road 6, leaving a single lane of the road open to southbound drivers for about 10 hours. Traffic built up and spilled over onto nearby county roads, detouring around the crash. Lanes were reopened just before 3 p.m.

By midday, more than 20 vehicles from different agencies filled the highway under a bright sun, controlling traffic and working on the crash. Signs were set up around parts of the accidents, shielding the northbound semitrailer’s cab from the view of passing drivers.

In an act of kindness to the emergency responders and others working the scene, Halliburton — which had no involvement with the crash — learned of the crash and bought and delivered sandwiches and drinks to everyone working on scene, Poncelow said.

“It’s a nice thing for a company to do,” he said.

Once U.S. 85 opened back up, the work wasn’t done. The highway, Poncelow said, needed more work to finish the diesel fuel cleanup.

Source :
Driver dies after semitrailer crash near Fort Lupton