Hours after the westbound lanes of the Green River Tunnel on Interstate 80 reopened to traffic, Steve Core sat in his Green River City Hall office, somberly reflecting on the deadly details of a fiery 26-vehicle crash that closed it more than eight months ago.
It was around 11:30 a.m. on Valentine’s Day, and Green River residents who had procrastinated were scrambling to buy last-minute candy, flowers, and cards for their sweethearts.
Core, a city spokesman for six years, was working when he spotted thick, black smoke pouring from the tunnel toward the back of Green River’s municipal building.
Core hopped into his car for a closer look, and as he drove toward the smoke to take some photos, he quickly realized the westbound side of the tunnel was on fire.
“I have never seen anything like that before,” Core told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday, adding that the crash left an indelible mark on Green River. “Anytime you have death involved, it’s tough.”
The Green River Volunteer Fire Department, Green River Police Department, Wyoming Highway Patrol, the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office, along with fire and medical responders from around the region sprang into action in response to the vehicle pile-up that triggered the explosion.
“The incident inside the tunnel snowballed,” Core recalled. “Emergency people couldn’t get into the tunnel because of the debris. They tried to get as many people out of the tunnel as they could.”
It was later determined that fire and rescue crews could not enter the tunnel until hours after the initial crash because the smoke and flames were too intense, according to the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office.
Crews entered both ends as far as they could, but the combination of vehicle obstructions, raging fire, explosions, and falling concrete kept them from going in farther and ultimately led them to evacuate.
Where It Started
A Toyota Tundra pickup that lost control just as it exited the westbound tunnel on Interstate 80 outside Green River sparked the 26-vehicle, triple-fatal pileup that followed, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report.
The 2006 Tundra drove through the westbound tunnel in the left lane at about 11:33 a.m. on Feb. 14. Snow had fallen earlier that day. The skies were then clear, but slush and ice may have formed near the tunnel exit, says the report.
Those killed in the crash include Christopher Johnson, 20, and Quentin Romero, 22, both of Rawlins, and Harmanjeet Singh, 30, of Nova Scotia, Canada.
At least 18 others were hurt.
’This Truck Is On Fire'
A long-haul trucker who goes by the online handle tophauler0 and narrowly escaped the explosive pileup described the horror inside the tunnel and posted graphic and intense video of the immediate aftermath on social media.
In one of the videos, screams can be heard from drivers who say they are burning up.
“Oh, this truck is on fire,” tophauler0 said in one of the videos, referring to a truck that crashed in front of him. “I gotta get out of here.”
He then can be seen kicking out the windshield of his semitrailer to escape, while other vehicles in the crash and a fire can be seen burning in the background.
The trucker’s second video picks up after he’s escaped from the tunnel and clearly shows him just outside the entrance, a huge plume of black smoke billowing out with various law enforcement officers on the scene.
He goes on to tell the officer that his truck was involved, but was one of the last ones, and it did not get too far into the tunnel.
“I was one of the very last ones, man,” he says. “The truck in front of me was on fire, with that guy dying in there. He’s dead."
’Never Should Have Happened'
Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday contacted 21-year-old Daryn Macy of Rock Springs, who was severely hurt in the crash.
She declined to comment because of a pending negligence lawsuit against three trucking firms and two drivers filed in Sweetwater County District Court.
Jason Neville, a Cheyenne attorney representing Macy, said the crash was avoidable.
"Daryn is an extraordinary young woman who has endured immense hardship from a tragedy that never should have happened,” Neville said. “We have great faith in this community — and in our jury system — to step in and protect Daryn and ensure accountability from those responsible."
Even though the westbound tunnel is open to traffic, the Wyoming Department of Transportation is encouraging drivers to follow the reduced speed limit of 35 mph and to drive cautiously.
Highway crews still need to remove the concrete barrier, reset the cable barrier, and remove all the traffic control devices in the eastbound tunnel, and are detouring eastbound I-80 traffic through Green River on Flaming Gorge Way, the Wyoming Department of Transportation reports.
Contractors hope to finish the work by Thursday evening.
If delays happen and contractors are unable to finish by then, crews will return Monday. Traffic will not be diverted through Green River on Friday’s Halloween holiday.
Scott Schwebke can be reached at scott@cowboystatedaily.com.
