One person and a dog died in a crash and fire along Interstate 70 just east of Loveland Pass on Thursday afternoon, Colorado State Patrol (CSP) said.
CSP said it responded to the scene at 1:07 p.m. and found two vehicles — a 2021 RAM hauling a trailer and a Freightliner semi-truck carrying a trailer — that had crashed in the westbound lanes.
The driver of the RAM, as well as a dog, died at the scene, CSP said. No one else was in the RAM. The semi truck driver was not injured.
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) called the vehicle fire "significant."
All eastbound lanes were closed between Silverthorne and the tunnel, and westbound traffic was diverted off the highway near the Herman Gulch exit about two miles before the Eisenhower Tunnel (mile marker 218).
The eastbound lanes reopened just before 3 p.m., but westbound lanes were closed for more than two hours as state transportation officials worked to clear the scene of the crash. As part of the closure, CDOT said motorists headed westbound on I-70 at Beaver Brook would be turned around. US 40 was not available as a detour while closures remained in effect.
Denver7 had a crew in the traffic right after the crash, and they saw multiple firefighters and paramedics headed to the scene.
CDOT cameras showed heavy smoke in the area.
The westbound lanes of I-70 and Highway 40 reopened by 5:15 p.m., but CSP troopers advised travelers to "continue to drive safely as traffic returns to normal flow."
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