Runaway semi crashes over edge of Colorado mountain pass, killing New York driver

A New York man driving a semitrailer in southern Colorado died Monday after crashing over the edge of a mountain pass, according to the state patrol.

The man, 23, was driving south on a section of U.S. 160 near Pagosa Springs known as Wolf Creek Pass when he hit the barrier wall on the right side of the highway and bounced off, according to a news release from the Colorado State Patrol.

He then swerved through the guardrail on the highway’s left side, rolling the semitrailer down the mountain, investigators said in the release.

Both the trailer and the cab were destroyed in the crash, which happened at about 8:20 a.m. Monday, according to the agency.

The man was driving at an “excessive speed” with smoke coming from the brakes before the crash, state patrol officials said. He failed to take the runaway truck ramp about 1 1/2 miles before the crash site.

Investigators could not immediately find the driver amid the “large debris scene” that spread from the highway down the mountain because his body was ejected from the vehicle in the crash, state patrol officials said. The man, who has not been publicly identified, was later found dead.

The semitrailer split open during the initial crash on the highway, spilling its cargo of canned drinks across the pass before rolling down the mountain, according to investigators.

Colorado Department of Transportation crews used a plow to clear the roadway of the drinks and debris. The highway was fully open Monday afternoon.

State investigators were working Monday to recover the semitrailer and cab from the mountainside. No additional information about the crash, which remains under investigation, was available.

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