An Illinois truck driver was killed on Interstate 70 when he was thrown from his cab during a chain reaction crash that shut down the Interstate. The series of crashes started on eastbound I-70 near Watkins on Thursday afternoon. The highway was eventually shut down in both directions because of the four separate sets of accidents.
The first accident involved a truck crashing into a Colorado Department of Transportation truck and a Colorado State Patrol car. Eastbound I-70 was blocked because of that crash and that eventually led to a chain reaction crash on a nearby bridge.
The State Patrol says 64-year-old Earl Steffen of Fairbury, Illinois was in a tractor-trailer loaded with brick when he crashed. Even though he was wearing a seat belt, he was thrown from his truck and landed underneath another car. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to CSP. Police investigators do not believe driving too fast for conditions played a role and that alcohol was a not factor in the crash.
A total of eight vehicles were involved in the crash on the bridge. State Patrol says Steffen was heading east on I-70 and crossing the bridge when he crashed into another car, which sent that car into another vehicle. That continued until a total of eight vehicles had been involved. Many of the cars were already stopped due to the previous crash involving the CSP car and the CDOT truck.
At least nine people in the other vehicles involved in the crash suffered moderate to minor injuries and were either treated at the scene or transported to a nearby hospital.
If you have been hurt or a loved one has been hurt or died as a result of a truck driver’s carelessness, contact Carey, Danis & Lowe Missouri/Illinois trucking-accident lawyers online or by calling 877-678-3400.
Visit our Truck-Accident Information Center.
