Semitruck driver killed after railroad bridge collapses over Interstate 25 north of Pueblo

A semitruck driver was killed Sunday during a train derailment north of Pueblo, Colorado State Patrol spokesperson Maj. Brian Lyons announced Sunday night at a press conference.

At approximately 3:25 p.m. Sunday afternoon, state patrol received initial reports of a train derailment approximately 4 miles north of Pueblo at Interstate 25 milepost 107.

The train derailment caused the closure of Interstate 25 in both directions. Motorists should expect extended closures due to train cars and coal on the interstate, CSP said Sunday in a statement posted to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Photos posted on X by the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office and CSP showed several derailed train cars on the interstate and coal spilled across the road. A portion of the railroad bridge over the interstate collapsed on top of a semitruck that was under the bridge, killing its driver, who has not yet been identified.

The cause of the derailment and collapse of the overpass is still under investigation, Lyons said Sunday night.

Officials from track owners Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad Company and the National Transportation Safety Board were expected on Monday to begin their investigation into the derailment in conjunction with local, state, and national authorities, Lyons said.

Along with the cause of the derailment itself, authorities will assess the state of the buckled overpass and what will be required to repair the damage and reopen traffic.

"The key things they will look at when they start their investigation is to see exactly how much of that northbound structure came down on the interstate, and how much of the pillars and other integral pieces are damaged, so we can look at that to shore it up, so we can get everything cleaned up and get the interstate back open," Lyons said.

Lyons stated that as far as he knew, the train was only carrying coal. However, HAZMAT crews from both CSP and local fire departments were on scene to assist with any potential hazard, such as diesel fuel and anything contained in the commercial semitruck trapped in the derailment.

"There was a report of a propane truck up on top of the area where the trestle is at, they are working to see if that had any involvement and that is information that (investigators) will be able to provide tomorrow," Lyons said.

So far, state patrol is aware of 12 train cars involved in the derailment, but investigators will confirm the total number of cars involved and the contents of each car on Monday, Lyons said.

Lyons stated that he did not know if there were any injuries to the train's engineer or conductor. More information on their condition will also be provided Monday, he said.

Multiple law enforcement agencies had responded to the scene as of Sunday night, including CSP, the Pueblo Police Department, Pueblo County Sheriff's Office, Pueblo Fire Department, Pueblo West Fire Department and Pueblo County Rural Fire Department, along with reinforcements from Fort Carson, Colorado Springs, Fountain, private contractors from the railroad, and the Colorado Department of Transportation.

"We continually practice and train here in Pueblo County with our emergency management partners just to look at these so that when we have these incidents, we have the resources available to handle something of this magnitude," Lyons said.

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This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Semitruck driver killed in train derailment north of Pueblo