One trucker was hospitalized when snow and gusty winds caused three separate wrecks overnight on I-70 at Vail Pass.
Colorado State Patrol confirms three semi-trucks and three passenger vehicles collided in just over an hour starting at 1:30 a.m., shutting down westbound I-70 for nearly six hours.
It happened during the thick of a mid-May storm that dumped at least 7 inches of snow on higher elevations from Vail to the Continental Divide.
The first wreck involved a pair of semis. No injuries were reported there.
The second wreck involved a lone semi, also with no injuries.
The third wreck was the nastiest, when two semis and three passenger vehicles smashed into each other. The driver of one semi was taken to the hospital with unspecified injuries. At least one of the semis leaked diesel fuel.
A crew with Ski Country Auto Report and Towing tells Krystal 93 it was on scene from 2 a.m. to just after 7:30 a.m.
Cleanup from this third wreck lasted until well after sunup, when a line of gridlocked vehicles nearly reached Copper Mountains. Dozens of truckers packed into chain stations and rest stops until I-70 reopened around 8 a.m.
