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GREEN RIVER, Wyo. — On Monday, officials gave an update on a fiery crash that killed three people in Wyoming on Friday.
The crash occurred in the westbound tube of the twin tunnel along I-80 under Castle Rock, in Green River. It involved 26 cars and trucks. The crash sparked a fire inside the tunnel that destroyed six commercial vehicles and two passenger vehicles.
Wyoming Highway Patrol has finished removing all vehicles from the westbound side of the tunnel.
"(Sunday) night, at around 9:30 p.m., we had finished collecting all evidence needed for crash reconstruction and on-scene evidence," said Wyoming Highway Patrol Sgt. Jason Roascio. "Now, the scene is being transferred over to (the Wyoming Department of Transportation) for their ability for clean up and for an assessment of the tunnel by their engineers."
WHP Maj. James Thomas said one person died in the fire, and two others died in the crash. He said those two individuals were found in their vehicle outside of the tunnel, where the crash came to a stop. He said the crash started inside the tunnel.
A Wyoming woman named Daryn Macy was involved in the crash and is being treated at the University of Utah Hospital. Her family said she has life-threatening injuries.
WHP said an off-duty trooper was also involved in this crash. The trooper tried to help people evacuate from the tunnel and was not injured.
Thomas said rescue operations were very difficult.
"Anytime you have a crash within a confined space, vehicles are in all different types of positions, and getting access to behind those vehicles is a challenge," he said. "We had damage from smoke and from debris falling from the tunnel roof structure onto those vehicles and so it was really hazardous for first responders."
WHP said weather was likely a factor in this crash.
"That morning here in Green River, we had snowfall, and then we had temperatures rise, which caused some melting and the pavement to become wet. With the temperature variance that caused some slick spots and some icy conditions coming out of that tunnel, and I believe that's going to be a factor in at least the initial incident that occurred," Thomas said.
Many people are wondering what sparked a massive fire at the crash site. Roascio said that's still being determined, but there's no indication of a hazmat issue. They are waiting for documents from commercial carriers to determine what they were handling inside those vehicles.
"There was talk of a commercial vehicle and transformers that is currently being looked into, but also with an increase in temperature tires, as they get hot, the air expands and the tires will pop, and any enclosed container can also, as it heats, the air expands and can cause explosions, among other things," he said.
Wyoming Department of Transportation officials said the eastbound tunnel is still on target to reopen on Wednesday. Crews are moving jersey barriers to get traffic moving in both directions on the eastbound side of the tunnel.
WHP said there will be a 10.5-foot width and 16-foot height restriction. Oversized vehicles should reach out to WYDOT's oversized loads permit office for detours.
Thomas said he expects the speed limit will also be reduced to 35 mph through that area once the road is reopened.
"We're still looking at probably several months before we're going to have some solid answers and a completed report," he said. "These kind of processes take an extreme amount of time to make sure that we have all the information available and we have an accurate report put together. What I'm pleased about is that we also have the NTSB that is here doing a parallel investigation."
Contributing: The Associated Press
