Truck Overturns Spilling Beer, Fuel On Roadway

WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. -- A semitrailer carrying a load of beer overturned on the on-ramp from Colorado 58 to eastbound I-70 in Wheat Ridge Tuesday morning, spilling cans of Keystone and fuel on the roadway.

Police said that the driver of the big rig hit the concrete barriers at the top of the ramp which tore a hole in the side of the trailer, spreading blue and silver beer cans all over the roadway and down the embankment.

The ramp is expected to remain closed for several hours while the fuel is cleaned up and the remaining beer, packed in 12-can cases, is offloaded by hand and transferred to another truck. The overturned Navaho Express will then be set back on its wheels.

Crews have already swept up crushed and dented beer cans from the roadway.

Traffic on eastbound 58 is being diverted to westbound I-70. To reconnect with eastbound I-70, drivers will want to take the W. 32nd Avenue/Youngfield exit, turn on Youngfield northbound and re-enter I-70 at the new on ramp at about West 35th Avenue.

Police ask that drivers slow down when approaching the area as to not cause additional accidents. Westbound I-70 is not significantly affected.

The driver of the truck was not seriously injured but was transported to a local hospital as a precaution.

The crash occurred at about 10:30 a.m. It's not known if weather was a factor. It was raining lightly in the area at the time.