DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — An overturned tanker truck spilled thousands of gallons of fuel onto the southbound lanes of I-25 near Castle Pines Parkway early Saturday morning, snarling traffic throughout the day.
The crash in Douglas County happened at around 2 a.m. seriously injured the driver who was taken to a local hospital, according to South Metro Fire Rescue (SMFR).
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) warned of "extreme" traffic delays even after three lanes of southbound traffic were reopened more than 12 hours later.
The right lane remained closed late into the evening Saturday, and the shoulder remained closed after 10 p.m.
Around 2,500 gallons of diesel fuel spilled from the tanker, which has the capacity to hold 9,000 gallons of fuel. The massive cleanup effort included as many as 50 first responders, according to SMFR. First responders built several dams in the nearby ditch to prevent the fuel spill from spreading, and siphoned the remaining fuel from the tanker into another.
See raw video of the cleanup effort in the video player below, courtesy of South Metro Fire-Rescue:
