Updated 7:00 p.m. 5/7/26
According to Colorado State Trooper Hunter Matthews, the tanker truck driver was attempting to enter Highway 6 when the vehicle was struck by the train.
“There's not enough space for a semi-truck to pull over those tracks and to be able to stop for traffic that's passing by,” Matthews said. “So he just pulled onto the tracks, was waiting for traffic to pass by, probably thought he had more time, and the train obviously can't stop on a dime.”
Matthews said the asphalt tar that the tanker was carrying was mostly contained to the grassy median.
“It pretty much just stayed centralized to the area of the crash, and it didn't really spread out too much,” he said.
Colorado Department of Transportation officials had the roadway cleared and open by 4:12 p.m., Matthews said, and a contractor hired by the trucking company cleaned up the remaining tar.
The asphalt tar did not spill into any waterways connecting to the nearby Colorado River, according to Matthews.
Union Pacific is leading the repair efforts to the railway. Matthews was unsure how long that process would take.
Original Report:
A collision between a passenger train and an oil tanker truck shut down Highway 6 for several hours Wednesday.
The passenger train struck the semi-tanker on Wednesday morning, which Colorado State Patrol says was on the tracks. State Patrol responded to the scene around 9:40 a.m., finding the truck split open from the impact. The agency estimates 6,000 gallons of road oil spilled onto the ground.
The driver of the truck was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, but no injuries were reported from the train passengers.
Colorado River Fire Rescue said in a statement that they helped about 310 passengers and train staff from the train to waiting buses for transportation to their final destination. The agency also described the tanker’s load as “hot asphalt tar.”
Officials announced that Highway 6 had reopened around 5 p.m., but discouraged travel in the area while cleanup continued.
Six passenger cars and two locomotives were derailed, according to State Patrol, and the rail was damaged in multiple areas. The agency said that the rail line will be closed for “an extended period of time for repairs.”
Colorado Public Radio reported that the same rail is used by freight trains and Amtrak for its popular California Zephyr route, which has been temporarily suspended. The train involved in Wednesday’s crash was a luxury sightseeing train called the Canyon Spirit.
This is a developing story, and may be updated with additional information.
