DPS NEWS

Fatal semi crash on I-80

On Tuesday, August 1, 2023, at about 9:10 pm, Troopers were on a traffic control shift on I-80 westbound at 1300 East. The closure was already set up with construction workers painting under the 1300 East bridge. The closure was moving from one lane closed down to a second lane closure leaving only one lane open. Both Troopers were inside of the lane closure in their cars. A semi truck came into the closure at freeway speeds. The semi truck knocked down several construction barrels and narrowly missed hitting one of the Troopers car. The semi clipped a pickup truck then struck the back of another semi truck causing that semi to jack knife. The original semi truck continued and struck a construction trailer (app 24 feet long) full of epoxy paint. The semi cab immediately became fully engulfed. I-80 was shut down in both directions while fire worked the scene. Once the fire was out the driver was located in the cab and was deceased. Eastbound lanes reopened at about 5:15 am. Westbound lanes are still closed for now as the scene stretches close to a half mile.