MARCH 20, 2015
FORT COLLINS, COLORADO
Headaches, frustration and sheer boredom ushered in the
first day of spring for thousands of motorists in and around Fort Collins on
Friday.
A boom truck flipped onto its left side about 11:30 a.m.
Friday between Prospect and Harmony roads in the southbound lanes on Interstate
25 after apparently clipping a white Nissan pickup truck, said CSP Cpl. Wayne
Nichols at the scene. The truck blocked both lanes of the highway, and somewhere
between 50 and 200 gallons of fluids from the truck's crane system and gas tank
poured onto the highway.
Hazardous materials crews from Poudre Fire Authority, the
Colorado Department of Transportation and CSP worked through the afternoon to
sop up and clear the sludge of diesel fuel and hydraulic fluids that spread
about a mile to the south by vehicles that drove on after the wreck.
No serious injuries were reported.
An already heavy Friday commute spiraled out of control as
the afternoon wore on. Some drivers were routed around the crash, but backups
left many sitting — or standing — on the concrete with no clear exit plan. At
one point, traffic was at a standstill past Vine Drive, and vehicles were
bumper-to-bumper along Mulberry Street and Prospect and Harmony roads long into
the afternoon.
I-25 was reopened at about 6:20 p.m.