SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. — Three people were killed, including a 9-year-old girl, in a fiery semi crash on westbound Interstate 70 in Summit County Sunday morning.
The crash occurred around 5:42 a.m. at milepost 208 and prompted a nearly 12-hour closure of the westbound lanes in the area.
The Colorado State Patrol said the Freightliner Cascadia semi, with a trailer, was traveling westbound on a downhill straightway on I-70 when it veered off the road, for an unknown reason, approaching a right-hand curve.
The driver then reentered the roadway, struck the center barrier, rolled across lanes, and became fully engulfed in flames, according to the CSP.
No other vehicles were involved.
Troopers said all occupants of the semi were pronounced dead at the scene, but the exact number could not be confirmed due to extensive damage.
However, later Sunday evening, the CSP determined that three people were killed in the crash.
The driver of the Freightliner was a 37-year-old woman from Deming, New Mexico. The passengers were later identified as a 39-year-old man from Deming and a 9-year-old girl from Jacksonville, Florida.
Their names have yet to be released pending notification to next of kin.
The roadway reopened around 6 p.m. that evening after crews cleared the wreckage.
The CSP said an investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing.
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