Update: As of 12:10 p.m., two right lanes were still closed, but two left lanes of Interstate 25 were open to traffic. Backups were still present as of 12:30 p.m.
DENVER (KDVR) — The southbound lanes of Interstate 25 in Douglas County were closed Saturday morning for an overturned diesel fuel tanker semitrailer that resulted in a large diesel fuel spill.
The crash was reported at about 2:21 a.m. on Saturday, March 30.
As of 7:54 a.m., the South Metro Fire Rescue reported one lane of southbound I-25 was reopened between Castle Pines Parkway and Happy Canyon Road. However, at 10 a.m., the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office reported that I-25 was closed at milepost 188 as crews continued to work, and encouraged drivers to take the detour.
Only the tanker was involved, and South Metro Fire Rescue medics transported the driver with “serious injuries.” There were no evacuations for the area.
The Colorado State Patrol reported that alcohol and drugs were not suspected, nor was excessive speed suspected in the crash. The driver, a 32-year-old man from Firestone, had minor injuries and used a seatbelt. The semitrailer had been traveling southbound when it ran onto the right shoulder, overcorrected and ran off the right side of the road. The semitrailer collided with a guardrail and rolled an unknown number of times.
FOX31’s Alliyah Sims was on scene at 8 a.m., where crews told her that there were no waterway contaminations, and crews anticipated the cleanup effort taking quite a while.
The road was closed at 2:21 a.m. as crews worked to clear the scene. As of 5 a.m., SMFR was detouring drivers on Castle Pines Parkway, where they should turn left on Hess Road, right onto Highway 83, a second right onto Highway 86, and then reconnect to I-25 southbound.
The fuel leak was stopped by hazmat personnel at about 4:30 a.m., and extended operations were underway. Officials told Sims that it was a 9,000-gallon capacity tanker and about 2,500 gallons spilled.
Crews used hand tools to dig dams in the dirt along the highway for the flowing fuel and protection hose lines were readied in case the fuel ignited. Hazmat technicians stopped several leaks on the tanker to prevent a larger spill.
SMFR, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Colorado State Patrol were on scene. Abmipar Environmental Services was called in for hazmat mitigation, and a heavy wrecker and new fuel tanker arrived at about 7:11 a.m. The crews drilled six holes into the damaged tank to siphon it into the new tanker.
By 11:30 a.m., SMFR had drained the tanker and was leaving the scene.
On March 7, crews responded to the same area but in the northbound lanes of I-25 for another diesel spill resulting from a semitruck crash that involved two other vehicles. In that crash, the driver of the semitruck had minor to moderate injuries, and the other two drivers had minor injuries, according to CSP.
