The National Transportation Safety Board reports that a collision in February in a Wyoming tunnel that sparked a deadly fire was caused when one pickup truck spun out of control.
On the morning of February 14, a 2006 Toyota Tundra was passing westward through the Interstate 80 Green River Tunnel in southwest Wyoming when the driver suddenly lost control, struck a guardrail and came to rest 150 feet outside the tunnel exit, according to NTSB’s preliminary investigation report.
The speed limit at that point on the four-lane interstate had been reduced to 55 mph due to snowfall earlier that day. While the weather was clear at the time of the crash, the NTSB stated there may have been ice or slush near the tunnel exit.
Two vehicles swerved to avoid the Tundra outside the tunnel exit: a Peterbilt truck with a 53-foot-long semitrailer and a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
However, a 2020 Volvo VNL semi with a 53-foot-long trailer, braking in response to the Tundra, jackknifed inside the 12-foot-wide tunnel 200 feet before its exit, blocking both westbound lanes.
National Transportation Safety Board
Two vehicles hit the Volvo tractor trailer soon after and exited the tunnel, striking several other vehicles in the process. One of the two vehicles was a Dodge Ram carrying four people, two of whom died after the pickup was overrode by a 2019 Freightliner tractor trailer while inside the tunnel.
Several other vehicles hit the Volvo inside the tunnel, and a fire broke out. The driver of another tractor trailer inside the tunnel died in the fire. Twenty other vehicle occupants were injured, and 16 commercial vehicles and 10 passenger vehicles were involved in the crash.
The deceased were identified as Christopher Johnson, 20, and Quentin Romero, 22, of Rawlins, Wyoming, and Harmanjeet Singh, 30, of Nova Scotia, Canada. Another 18 people were treated for injuries.
As for the tunnel and road repairs, traffic was reopened in the eastbound tunnel, which was undamaged, in early March, while the westbound lanes remain closed. WYDOT contracted with Clean Harbors Environmental Services, an environmental and industrial service company, for the cleanup and disposal work in the westbound tunnel. That work wrapped up this month, and now WYDOT engineers and consultants are evaluating the westbound tunnel and developing plans for repairs.
