WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — Three people were killed and three others were injured after a semi rolled over on Interstate 70 in Wheat Ridge, dumping its load onto both the eastbound and westbound lanes of the highway early Thursday morning.
The crash was reported to police at 8:21 a.m. It happened between Ward Rd. and 32nd Ave., according to Eric Kellogg, the division chief of the Wheat Ridge Police Department.
The semi — which was carrying large, blue plastic piping — was traveling east along I-70 when it flipped over. As it crashed onto the road, the piping came off the truck and spilled onto the eastbound and westbound lanes of I-70, causing at least three other vehicles to crash, Kellogg said.
Watch a news conference from Wheat Ridge police about the crash in the video player below.
Three people inside one of those vehicles were killed and two passengers were taken to a hospital and were listed as stable, though their condition was not immediately known, Kellogg said. The driver of the semi-truck was also injured, he added.
Family members identified the three deceased victims as Ruben Rodriguez, 33, Juliana Rodriguez Plata, 37, and Juliana's mother, Luz Melba Martinez. Ruben and Juliana were married on Aug. 10, and the family was heading up to the mountains for their honeymoon when the crash happened.
Juliana's father, Carlos Joaquin Plata, and the couple's 1-year-old son, Daniel "Danny," were also in the car and were injured in the crash.
Kellogg said first responders offered medical attention to passengers in the other two vehicles but the individuals refused.
The westbound lanes of I-70 were closed at Kipling for about seven hours and were back open shortly after 3:30 p.m. The eastbound lanes, which were closed at 6th Ave., were back open by 4:10 p.m.
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