Fatal Accident on I-70, Hwy Re-Opened

I-70 EB: Road closed between Exit 266 - CO 72; Ward Rd and Exit 267 - CO 391; Kipling St. Road is closed both directions due to vehicle fire, expect long delays

I-70 EB: Road closed at Exit 261 - US 6; 6th Ave. Westbound I-70 open, detour at Denver West offramp, eastbound lanes still closed.

Westbound I-70 is open, eastbound is expected to be closed through tomorrow morning.

From Lakewood PD 1 hour ago:
Final update for the night on I-70 crash. Highway will remain closed at least overnight. We can confirm that there are multiple fatalities and 6 others taken to local hospitals.

Multiple Fatalities In Fiery Crash That Shut Down I-70, Closure Expected For Several Hours
April 25, 2019

Jeffco Public Schools @JeffcoSchoolsCo 24 minutes ago
Due to the accident on I-70 at the Denver West exit on Thursday evening, some routes to the Ed Center (1829 Denver West Drive) may be restricted on Friday, April 26. Please visit jps.news/alt_routes for alternate routes.

John Morrissey @KOAJetcopter 46 minutes ago
Sad, sad night. Cops say multiple fatalities on I70, but they aren't saying how many. I70 is still shut down. 6th Av or Hwy 58 are among your detours. I'll be over it in the morning with the latest. #cotraffic @KOANewsRadio

Edit to add 12:18am
CSP_Golden 23min ago
Planning on eastbound being closed THRU Fri am rush hour. Same for Denver West overpass. Westbound I-70 traffic being taken off and put back on at Denver West. May have WB open by rush hour. S1

Our hearts and thoughts are with those injured and lost tonight at Denver West, and to the families anxiously waiting to hear from a loved one.

Twenty-six years on the Patrol, and I've never seen anything like the Denver West crash tonight. I'm at a loss for words. S-1

Four dead, semi driver arrested after I-70 fiery crash involving 28 vehicles
Highway will not reopen until Saturday
By: Stephanie Butzer | Posted: 7:24 AM, Apr 26, 2019, Updated: 10 minutes ago

LAKEWOOD, Colo. — The driver of a semi that caused a deadly, fiery 28-vehicle crash on I-70 Thursday afternoon will face four counts of vehicular homicide charges, authorities said Friday morning.

The driver has been identified as 23-year-old Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos of Texas.

An out-of-control semi carrying lumber caused the crash, which occurred around 4:50 p.m. in the eastbound lanes of I-70 near Colorado Mills Parkway, Countryman said. Investigators are looking into if the semi’s brakes were not working.

At 7 a.m., Countryman said there were still bodies at the crash site and daylight would help with that recovery process.

Josh Laipply, chief engineer with the Colorado Department of Transportation, said they are going to assess the structural integrity of a bridge right next to the crash.

Driver Of Semi That Caused Fiery Crash On I-70 Arrested, Identified As Rogel Lazaro Aguilera
April 26, 2019 at 10:40 am

Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos (credit: Lakewood Police Department)
“I can’t go into the facts, it’s still evidence we’re building. We feel at this time we have enough probable cause to charge vehicular homicide,” Agent Ty Countryman with Lakewood Police said.

Countryman did say at this time drugs and alcohol do not seem to be involved. A mechanical inspection will be done on the semi but the amount of heat from the damage may make that inspection incomplete.

Countryman did clarify, “We don’t have any indication that was an intentional act by the driver at all.”

Driver of semi that caused deadly, fiery I-70 crash arrested; highway to remain closed Friday
Posted 7:05 am, April 26, 2019, by Joe Dahlke, Updated at 10:54AM, April 26, 2019

Video captured by a YouTuber appeared to show the semi speeding down the shoulder of the interstate moments before the crash happened.

The eastbound lanes of the interstate may not open until sometime on Saturday, because of pavement damage that needs to be repaired, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

Josh Laipply, chief engineer with CDOT, said that they are concerned about the pavement and may have to re-pave the asphalt because temperatures of the fire reached up to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit.

Horrible images and way too many fatalities. I used to work at a gas station facing I-70 at Youngfield. And saw too many trucks with brakes on fire back in the 1980's. Now it has to be so much more dangerous because traffic is so much worse. Sadly I think we will see more of these.

I wonder if one of the responding deputies would like to personally ask this jack wagon what he's smiling about?

-Smokey

CSP_Golden 1min ago
All lanes are open I-70 westbound at Denver West Blvd with slow roll in progress. Eastbound lanes will remain closed until further notice. -
@ColoradoDOT

CDOT 1hr ago
I-70 EB: Road open between Exit 261 - US 6; 6th Ave and Exit 264 - 32nd Ave. Eastbound I-70 is completely open following crash cleanup/investigation.