This information is preliminary and subject to change.
Release date 19 March 2025.
On Friday, February 14, 2025, about 11:33 a.m. mountain standard time, a 2006 Toyota Tundra pickup truck (Toyota) was traveling west in the left lane through a tunnel on Interstate 80 (I 80) near Green River, Sweetwater County, Wyoming. At this location, I-80 is a divided four-lane concrete roadway consisting of two approximately 12-foot-wide travel lanes in each direction of travel (see figure 1). The variable speed limit (including inside the tunnel) was set at 55 mph, having been reduced from 65 mph the night before due to the weather. Snow had fallen earlier in the day, and although the weather was clear, the roadway was wet with possible ice and/or slush forming near the tunnel exit. As the Toyota exited the tunnel, it spun to the left, struck a metal guardrail, continued traveling west, and came to rest about 150 feet from the westbound 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 in combination with a 2016 Great Dane 53 foot long semitrailer (Peterbilt), also traveling in the left lane, 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 (Jeep) 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 and curb near the tunnel exit, continued on a northwest trajectory across both travel lanes, and came to rest against the hillside beyond the right shoulder.
Moments later, a 2020 Volvo VNL truck tractor in combination with a 2020 Wabash 53 foot long semitrailer (Volvo) was traveling west through the tunnel in the right lane. The Volvo driver 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 truck (Dodge), traveling in the left lane and occupied by four people, struck the Volvo’s truck tractor. At the same time, the driver of a 2019 Freightliner Cascadia truck tractor in combination with a 2023 Wabash 53 foot long semitrailer (Freightliner), traveling in the right lane, steered into the left lane, where it struck the tunnel wall and also collided with and overrode the Dodge. The entangled Freightliner and Dodge continued traveling west, re-impacted the Volvo’s truck-tractor, exited the tunnel, struck the Toyota, and came to rest after striking the rear of the Peterbilt. Following these collisions, several other vehicles collided inside the tunnel, and a postcrash fire ensued.
As a result of the collisions, two of the Dodge occupants were fatally injured. The driver of a truck-tractor/semitrailer combination vehicle inside the tunnel was trapped inside the vehicle and died in the postcrash fire. Twenty other vehicle occupants sustained injuries of varying degrees.
Parties to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation are:
- Federal Highway Administration
- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
- Wyoming Highway Patrol
- Wyoming Department of Transportation
All aspects of the crash remain under investigation while the NTSB determines the probable cause, with the intent of issuing safety recommendations to prevent similar events.
