The National Transportation Safety Board released a report this week detailing what happened in the tragic westbound I-80 Green River Tunnel crash. According to the report, at 11:33am on February 14th, a 2006 Toyota Tundra pickup was traveling west in the left lane through the tunnel on I-80. Possible ice had formed near the tunnel exit and as the Toyota exited the tunnel, it spun to the left, struck a metal guardrail and came to rest about 150 feet from the tunnel exit, where it blocked the right lane and a portion of the left lane. Following this crash, the driver of a westbound 2024 Peterbilt truck tractor with a 53 foot long semitrailer tried to avoid the stopped Toyota and struck the left side of the tunnel. After impacting the tunnel, the Peterbilt driver regained control, avoided impact with the Toyota, and stopped on the right shoulder about 450 feet west of the tunnel exit. A westbound 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee was traveling in the left lane of the tunnel when its driver observed the stopped Toyota and applied the brakes. The Jeep began to spin, impacted the metal guardrail near the tunnel exit, continued on a northwest trajectory across both travel lanes, and came to rest against the hillside. Moments later, a 2020 Volvo VNL truck tractor with a 53 foot long semitrailer braked in response to the stopped Toyota, which caused the combination vehicle to jackknife inside the tunnel and block the left and right lanes about 200 feet before the tunnel exit. Shortly thereafter, a 2012 Dodge Ram pickup occupied by four people struck the Volvo’s truck tractor. At the same time, the driver of a 2019 Freightliner truck tractor with a 53 foot long semitrailer steered into the left lane where it struck the tunnel wall and also collided with and overrode the Dodge. The entangled Freightliner and Dodge re-impacted the Volvo’s truck-tractor, exited the tunnel, struck the Toyota, and came to rest after striking the rear of the Peterbilt. Other vehicles collided inside the tunnel, and a post crash fire ensued. Two of the Dodge occupants were fatally injured and the driver of a truck-tractor inside the tunnel was trapped inside the vehicle and died in the post crash fire. Twenty other vehicle occupants sustained injuries of varying degrees.
