MINERAL COUNTY, Colo. — A semi driver who crashed off of Wolf Creek Pass in November had been driving about 45 mph over the speed limit, according to a crash report.
The crash happened on the morning of Nov. 3.
CSP responded to the scene, which was around milepost 161 on Highway 60, about 17 miles north of Pagosa Springs, at 8:21 a.m. The steep and winding highway goes over Wolf Creek Pass.
When first responders arrived, 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.
Based on a crash report for this that Denver7 obtained on Friday, the driver was identified as 23-year-old Sukhpreet Singh of New York. He was a licensed driver, per the report.
CSP's report reads that he had been driving westbound on Highway 60 when he moved onto the shoulder and hit the retaining wall. The truck overturned onto its passenger side and crashed across the highway. The truck collided through the guardrail on the eastbound side and was briefly airborne before crashing into the steep slope off the highway.
The driver was ejected and was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The vehicle was destroyed.
The crash report reads that conditions were clear and dry, and that the 80,000-pound truck was working properly. Investigators could see the driver had tried to break before impact, the report reads.
In this area of Wolf Creek Pass, the speed limit for commercial vehicles is 25 mph. The crash report reads the driver had been traveling an estimated 65 mph.
The driver did not take a runaway truck ramp that was about 1.5 miles before the crash.
CSP listed the most apparent human-contributing factor for the crash as driver inexperience.
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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